Introduction of Emotional Well-being
Emotional health has a huge impact on our daily lives. Physical health and mental health affect each other mutually. What we eat and how we exercise affects our moods. Emotional changes can affect internal organs of the body, and sometimes even result in physical problems. Our emotions are always changing. This is completely normal. However, support is needed to help us get our emotions back into balance when the changes are prone or start to threaten our health.
In traditional Chinese medicine, there are 7 emotional changes listed below which are considered to prone to impact on physical health:
Joy: Appropriate joy and happiness are beneficial to health. However, some people have overactive joy with no real control. This type of inappropriate joy is considered damaging to the heart function in traditional Chinese medicine and will finally burn out your energy, leading to flatness and depression.
Anger: Appropriate anger is good for releasing emotional burden to keep the balance of energy. Constant dissatisfaction, resentment, and frustration are believed to result in energy stagnation in the liver.
Worry and Ruminating Thoughts: When thoughts become obsessive and never disappear, they can accumulate into a pathological condition. Excess worry and ruminating thoughts will eventually lead to a functional imbalance of the spleen and stomach.
Grief: Appropriate grief is healthy. However, grieving without control will reduce the energy of the lungs
Fear and Panic: An overwhelming sense of fear and panic will affect the kidney and bladder energies, resulting in fatigue and energy deficiency of the whole body.
Acupuncture for Emotional Well-Being
Acupuncture is a natural therapy that addresses the whole person; it is not only used for physical health concerns, but also very effective for emotional concerns. Acupuncturists focus on finding out the energy imbalance, so that they can select special acupuncture points to harmonize the body, mind, and spirit.
Research shows that acupuncture treatment is able to stimulate the release of endogenous endorphins to relieve pain. It can also regulate serotonin levels in the brain to calm and uplift mood. Studies also indicate that acupuncture relieves stress by encouraging the central nervous system to shift out of sympathetic “fight or flight” mode, into parasympathetic “rest and relax” mode. Most people feel very relaxed during and after treatment.
According to many clinical experiences, acupuncture is believed to be helpful for the treatment of emotional problems such as stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, post-traumatic stress disorder, and withdrawal symptoms during addiction recovery.
Stress and Anxiety: Anxiety disorders, including stress, have become the most widespread mental illness in America. Research shows that acupuncture is an excellent method to treat stress and anxiety by resetting unhealthy stress responses and calming the system. In addition, acupuncture calms the sympathetic nervous system, lowers blood pressure, and increases muscle relaxation.
Depression: Research has found that acupuncture can ease depression by influencing neurotransmitter production in the brain. It has also been shown that acupuncture enhances the positive effects of antidepressant medications.
Insomnia: Poor sleep can negatively affect all aspects of our lives. Sleep difficulties have many reasons. Chinese medicine experts concentrate on identifying the underlying imbalance that leads to insomnia. By addressing the root of the problem, acupuncture can help resolve sleeping problems.
Post Traumatic Stress Disorder/PTSD: Research has shown that stimulation of specific acupuncture points affects specific regions of the brain, and acupuncture can calm the limbic system, which constitutes the parts of the brain that are most affected by emotional trauma.
Withdrawal Symptoms During Addiction Recovery: Acupuncture is an excellent treatment to relieve withdrawal symptoms. Research shows that acupuncture helps detoxify addictive substances in the body, calming compulsive impulses, curbing cravings, and promoting positive thought processes by stimulating the release of endorphins.