No, I’m not kidding.
If you think that you’re so stressed that you can never relax again, take a deep breath. Okay — try to take a deep breath. Then consider ear acupuncture, also called auricular acupuncture, to help your body tell itself to relax. (The needles go into your ear lobe).
Now, when you think of stress management, sticking pins in your head is probably not the first thought that pops up into your mind. But acupuncture has been used to successfully treat stress for many centuries. A 2003 study at the Yale University School of Medicine showed that moms who had children going into surgery (a very stressful time) relaxed when given ear acupuncture a half hour before the scheduled surgery. Their calmness helped their children relax before going into surgery.
How Big Are Those Needles?
Acupuncture needles are far thinner than a needle used to inject medicine into you or draw blood from you. Although acupuncturists are trained to insert them painlessly, sometimes you will feel them. The worst you will feel is a sensation nearly indistinguishable from a mosquito bite.
Dogs with painful arthritis and who do not respond to conventional therapy often get much needed relief from acupuncture. Cats are treated with acupuncture for a variety of chronic conditions. And cats aren’t shy about letting you know how they really feel. Dogs and cats often fall asleep during treatments.
Advantages
One of the advantages of acupuncture for stress is that there aren’t any known negative side effects — except you might feel sleepy during the session. Although grabbing a beer might seem like a cheaper and easier way to get your body to relax, there are nasty side effects to becoming reliant on chemicals.
Another advantage is that more and more health insurance companies do partial compensation for acupuncture treatments. You do have to check with your insurance company for the particulars, though. Check also to see if you need a reference from your primary doctor.
I’m not advocating giving up conventional medicine in favor of alternative medicine. But I think you can take the best bits of both, depending on your unique situation. Remember, I’m not a doctor, so please don’t take my advice as seriously as you would take a doctor’s advice.
(No Ratings Yet)
Loading ...
To be notified by email when there are new blog entries, 
