Back to Homepage
Back to Homepage
 
Physical Behavioral
  • Fatigue (often one of the first signs)
  • Headache
  • Insomnia
  • Muscle aches/stiffness (especially neck, shoulders and low back)
  • Heart palpitations
  • chest pains
  • Abdominal cramps
  • Nausea
  • Trembling
  • Cold extremities
  • Flushing or sweating
 
  • Pacing
  • Fidgeting
  • Insomnia
  • Nervous habits (nail-biting, Foot-tapping)
  • Increased eating
  • Smoking
  • Crying
  • Yelling
  • Drinking
  • Dwearing
  • Throwing things or hitting
  • Frequent colds
Mental   Emotional
  • Decrease in concentration and memory
  • Indecisiveness
  • Mind racing or going blank
  • Confusion
  • loss of sense of humour
 
  • Anxiety
  • Nervousness
  • depression
  • Anger
  • Worry
  • Abdominal cramps
  • Irritability
  • Impatience
  • Short temper

The body has an inbuilt physical response to stressful situations. Faced with pressure, challenge or danger, we need to react quickly, and our bodies release hormones such as cortisol and adrenaline to help us do this. These hormones are part of the "fight or flight" response and affect the metabolic rate, heart rate and blood pressure, resulting in a heightened - or stressed - state that prepares the body for optimum performance in dealing with a stressful situation. Many things (or the anticipation of them) can lead to stress:

  • Pressure to perform at work, at school or in sports
  • Threats of physical violence
  • Money worries
  • Arguments
  • Family conflicts
  • Divorce
  • Abdominal cramps
  • Nausea
  • Bereavement
  • Unemployment
  • Alcohol or drug abuse

Sometimes, there is no particular reason for developing stress, or it arises out of a series of minor irritations.

Case 1: Susan, 56, runs a decorating supplies shop, and has been visiting us for over four years. She first tried acupuncture because the conventional medical approach to her condition of arthritis was disappointing. 'I was in a great deal of pain and had very little movement in my hands until I started to have acupuncture, which keeps me mobile and pain free' says Susan. She now also visits for help with stress since, last year, she was diagnosed with a tumour in the bowel and had to face major surgery.

'Acupuncture has definitely assisted me through this whole stressful experience,' says Susan. 'It helps me relax and also gives me a boost of energy. I am still running my busy shop and walking my dogs every day.'

Case 2: Jennifer, 50, came to visit us when she realised she had become an alcoholic. 'My drinking was completely out of control,' Wilma recalls. 'I drank because I was under a great deal of stress and I didn't know how to give it up.'

Living in the center of Silicon Valley, Jennifer was also keen not to publicte her problem by going to a local Alcoholics Anonymous meeting. 'I wanted to deal with the problem privately so I went to an acupuncturist with experience of drink and drug addictions. Even after just one session I felt a weight lift off me and I stopped drinking completely after a few weeks,' she says. 'Stress and drinking were interfering with my life far too much. I now feel fine, stress-free, and I never crave a drink at all.'

Medical Acupuncture in the Treatment of Chronic Stress-Related Illness
...Medical acupuncture is extremely useful in the treatment of many chronic stress related illnesses, not only because of its effectiveness in treatment of the physical body, but also (and perhaps more importantly) because of its ability to penetrate the layers of defense and coping mechanisms which our patients exhibit...
Acupuncture effects on reflex responses to mental stress in humans
...Acupuncture significantly attenuates the increase in blood pressure during mental stress. Needling nonacupoints, but not "no-needle" acupuncture, have a similar effect on blood pressure...
Acupuncture Lowers Stress Response in Heart Patients
...Blood pressure and heart rate were unaffected by the acupuncture, and both increased after mental stress testing in all groups, but sympathetic nerve activation was significantly reduced in the (authentic) acupuncture group," stated Middlekauff...
Stress Relief the Cherie Way
...Cherie Blair has found a way to beat the stress of being a working mum and prime minister's wife: ear acupuncture. BBC News Online's Megan Lane follows her lead to see if needle therapy works...
Managing Stress with Acupuncture
...In a case of stress, the acupuncturist often looks to the liver, the organ that ensures the free flow of Qi and is often implicated in emotional trauma. The use of carefully chosen acupuncture points within the meridians can harmonize the Qi, smooth out the liver energy, and help to reduce stress-related symptoms...
  Service the San Francisco Bay Area since 1994. Voted the best acupuncturist in Sunnyvale!
Back to Homepage