How Acupuncture Helps with Addiction
How Acupuncture Helps with Addiction Acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are an incredible tool for healing, the body, mind and spirit. If you’re familiar with the magic of this medicine, you probably have heard it’s a wonderful treatment for pain management. Maybe you’ve heard that patients have found great success in treating fertility or women’s health issues overall. An area that a lot of people might not know about is acupuncture and how it can help addiction. The Buddhist’s say that we are all addicted to something it’s just a matter of degree, except they would probably use the word “attachment” instead of addiction. Our world is practically set up to fuel addictions, whether it’s alcohol, smoking, vaping, cannabis, gambling, food, pornography or even Netflix, we are all on this ride looking for balance. Since Acupuncture has such an enormous impact on brain chemistry and helps activate the body’s natural healing processes which includes releasing endorphins and other transmitters like dopamine, serotonin, and melatonin, it makes total sense that it would help with addiction. Over the years, acupuncture has been highly recommended for helping reduce cravings and withdrawals, as well as just improving one’s natural overall well-being and emotional wellness. It all started in the 1970s in the Bronx, one of the five boroughs of New York City, at Lincoln Memorial Hospital. It was here that doctors found acupuncture to be more effective than prescribing methadone for heroin addiction. One of the hospitals doctors, Dr. Michael O. Smith founded the National Acupuncture Detoxification Association protocol, otherwise known as NADA. This protocol is specifically 5 auricular acupuncture points that treat addiction. Those points are Shen Men, Kidney, Lung, Sympathetic and Liver. Since the 70’s these 5 points have been used countless times in clinics all over the world with great success. So what do these 5 magical auricular points actually do? Reduce cravings Alleviated withdrawals Eased physical pain Regulated emotions, like anxiety and stress Improved sleep So in other words, it helped people feel normal again. Isn’t that such a big part of addiction, after you’ve gone down the rabbit hole for so long, in order to feel like you’re functioning you need to reach for the drug of choice in order to feel normal again. One of the major advantages to receiving acupuncture is the ability to improve moods and reduce stress which helped patients feel better equipped to manage their cravings and maintain their sobriety. Why just auricular (ear) points as opposed to doing a full body treatment? There are many Microsystems in the body, meaning ways of treating the entire body through a smaller succinct area. The Koreans use Korean hand acupuncture, massage therapists might utilize the area underneath the foot which is called Reflexology, in this particular situation doctors find the ear is not only easily accessible, especially in groups, but by administering ear seeds or pellets instead of needles, the patient can massage the points throughout the next couple days which can provide more support. Is this NADA protocol only for addiction? No, these points are used for any number of imbalances or symptoms in the body. Shen Men is one of the number #1 points used when it comes to auricular (ear) acupuncture in general. Keep in mind, if acupuncture can do that for opioid addiction, imagine what it can do for alcohol, cigarettes, or food attachments. Is acupuncture painful? Not so much, there is a sensation and that can range from a dull ache all the way to a mosquito bite. The ears tend to have even less of a sensation since the needle goes in just a tiny bit and the needling method is quick. Does that mean acupuncture can treat depression and anxiety in general? Absolutely! At Tao to Wellness, we see patients suffering from depression, anxiety, grief, sadness, fear, worry and just overall stress. Acupuncture can’t not effect the brain in a positive way, which in turn effects the entire body. If you’re curious and have questions, don’t hesitate to reach out, we’d love to hear from you!
Tips to Balance Emotions in Chinese Medicine
Tips to Balance Emotions in Chinese Medicine What emotion do you gravitate towards when things are challenging? Do you tend towards being angry, sad or are you a worry wart when times are tough? Listed below are emotions, the organ system that rules that emotion, other symptoms that MAY occur when that organ system is out of balance and some tips to get things back into balance. Anger and Depression: Liver Migraines, PMS, menstrual discomfort, high blood pressure, dizziness, insomnia (mostly trouble staying asleep), pain in the ribs, red eyes, constipation, acne. Milk Thistle, fish oil, apple cider vinegar, watercress, onions, vinegar, lemon, honey. Avoid: Alcohol and nicotine Tip: Take a martial arts or kickboxing class to move the angry out, don’t simmer in it! Worry: Spleen Low energy, paleness, fibromyalgia like muscle pain or weak muscles, flatulence, bloating, bowel issues, (mostly soft or loose stools, but can be constipation), poor appetite, Astralagus Tea, ginger, rye, amaranth, corn, millet, pumpkin, chamomile, pau d’arco Avoid: Overeating, gluten and too much raw, cold food Tip: Let go! Dance! Sadness and Grief: Lungs Shallow breathing, chronic cough, phlegm in the throat, lowered immune system, allergies, asthma, skin diseases, urination issues. Astralagus Tea, garlic, pears, banana, licorice root. Tip: Singing is wonderful for the Lungs! Fear and Anxiety: Kidney Sore and weak low back, frequent urination, premature ejaculation, ringing in the ears, constipation, nightsweats, chronic dry throat, Gou Qi Zi Berries or Wolfberries, lamb, squash, sweet potatoes. Tip: Meditation can ground you back to your Kidneys and add some healthy fire to your spirit.
Research Study: Depression and Acupuncture
Research Study: Depression and Acupuncture Acupuncture and it’s role with depression, a chronic and debilitating state of mind, is making headlines once again. “For people who have depression, who have tried various medical options, who are still not getting the benefit they want, they should try acupuncture or counseling as options that are now known to be clinically effective,” said Hugh MacPherson, the study’s lead author from the University of York in the UK. For their study, he and his colleagues recruited 755 people with moderate or severe depression. The researchers split participants into three groups: 302 were randomly assigned to receive 12 weekly acupuncture sessions, another 302 received weekly counseling sessions and 151 received usual care only. About 70 percent of people had taken antidepressants in the three months before the study and about half reported taking pain medications. People did not have to stop taking their medicine to participate in the study. At the outset, participants had an average depression score of 16 on a scale from 0 to 27, with higher scores symbolizing more severe depression. A 16 is considered moderately severe depression. After three months, people assigned to the acupuncture group had an average score of about 4 – on the higher end of the mild depression category. Scores fell to 13 among members of the counseling group and about 14 in the usual care group, both considered moderate depression. Participants who received acupuncture or counseling saw larger improvements over three months than those who had neither treatment. Those benefits remained for an additional three months after the treatments stopped.”
Meditation isn’t just for Monks… it’s for the LA Lakers too!
Meditation isn’t just for Monks… it’s for the LA Lakers too! Sometimes the road to success can be a mysterious one, who would think that meditation would assist you in being successful or winning the GAME, but it does. Just ask sports psychologist and meditation teacher George Mumford… Interview from Mindful magazine. But, wait a second here, many, many people have the hardest time meditating, so if meditation helps you WIN, then what helps you meditate? Ah grasshopper… Acupuncture… For five years, George Mumford worked with NBA Championship team the Chicago Bulls, during the Michael Jordan years. He’s also been involved with the Los Angeles Lakers. He’s currently a sports psychologist and meditation teacher to many athletes and sports teams. Soren Gordhamer: When you teach mindfulness to the Chicago Bulls or the Los Angeles Lakers, what do you feel that you are offering? George Mumford: The opportunity to be in the moment. In sports, what gets people’s attention is this idea of being in the zone, or playing in the zone. When they are playing their best, they can do no wrong, and no matter what happens they are always a step quicker, a step ahead. That happens when we are in the moment, when we are mindful of what is going on. There’s a lack of self-consciousness, there’s a relaxed concentration, and there’s this sense of effortlessness, of being in the flow. We have that experience in other parts of our life, but we equate it with sports because there are rules and guidelines, and it is a situation where you get immediate feedback. When we are in the moment and absorbed with the activity, we play our best. That happens once and awhile, but it happens more often if we learn how to be more mindful. By mindful, I mean being aware, being engaged with the present moment. Mindfulness is useful because it is through this that we can see what is going on. It means knowing what needs to happen and doing it. Christina “Mei Wen” Martin, L.Ac., Dipl.AC, MTOM, FABORM. christina@berkeley-acupuncture.com
