Anxiety

NYC Acupuncture for the Treatment of Anxiety

In Chinese Medicine there is no distinction between emotional and physical disorders.  The system is viewed as a whole; and is both assessed and treated holistically.  All  illness is viewed as a disharmony and all disharmonies are viewed as having both a physical and an emotional component.

When treating patient who complain of anxiety, the practitioner focuses on the symptoms which the patient describes.  So for instance some patients will describe a sensation of rapid heartbeat, others may feel tension or nausea in the gut and still others might experience shortness of breath and dizziness.  While all of these might be described as anxiety from a western medical perspective, they are distinct disharmony patterns in Chinese medicine.

So one collection of symptoms might be a blood deficiency pattern, another might be a qi deficiency pattern and yet another might be a phlegm or damp accumulation pattern.  Each of these can cause symptoms of anxiety and it is the job of your practitioner to tease out each patient’s specific collection of symptoms in order to make the appropriate pattern diagnosis.

Once a diagnosis has been made, then the practitioner will design an individualized treatment plan to address your specific disharmony.  That plan will often involve acupuncture and herbs, assuming your practitioner is trained in herbology.  The key to successful a outcome is an accurate pattern diagnosis.

Whether your goal is to supplement current medications, reduce medications or eliminate medications, acupuncture can be effective.  Of course, it is never appropriate to stop medications without consultation with your prescribing doctor.

West Village Acupuncture is an NYC based practice.  If you have any questions about acupuncture in the treatment of anxiety, please feel free to contact Dr. Elizabeth Healy, L.Ac. at +1 917-968-2854.