Revitalise your Heart, Mind, Body and Spirit

Individual healthcare for you

Stress, anxiety and depression affect roughly 30% of the population at any one time.
Acupuncture and chinese herbs may be helpful for reducing stress, anxiety and depession for you
One of the strengths of acupuncture and chinese medicine is the ability to individualise your healthcare.
In our experience, there is no one-size-fits-all protocol that suits everybody. We spend time talking with you; to understand your overall health.
We ask about your:
food habits
exercise
stress
sleep
digestion
energy levels
in order to work out a personalised treatment plan for you.
Our amazing practitioners are passionate about helping you to achieve your well-being goals; to revitalise your heart, mind, body and spirit.

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Acupuncture for stress, anxiety and depression

Mental Health Support Research

Chinese medicine treatment can help with:

stress
chronic pain related to depression by managing the underlying chronic pain

Acupuncture is effective for reducing anxiety and depression. There is high level scientific evidence support for the use of acupuncture to reduce anxiety and depression:

Acupuncture for anxiety: There is good scientific evidence encouraging the use of acupuncture therapy to treat anxiety disorders as it yields effective outcomes, and has fewer side effects when compared with conventional (pharmaceutical) treatment.

A 2016 systemic review showed positive and statistically significant effects from using acupuncture for treating subjects with anxiety.
[Goyata SL, Avelino CC, Santos SV, Souza Junior DI, Gurgel MD, Terra FS. Effects from acupuncture in treating anxiety: integrative review. Rev Bras Enferm. 2016 Jun;69(3):602-9.]
A 2018 systemic review “reported an anxiety decrease for their treatment group relative to the control groups.” Three of these studies used pharmaceuticals as controls. Clinical research studies show acupuncture is a valid treatment therapy for anxiety disorders without significant adverse effects.
[Amorim, D., Amado, J., Brito, I., Fiuza, S. M., Clinical, N. A. T. I., 2018. (n.d.). Acupuncture and electroacupuncture for anxiety disorders: A systematic review of the clinical research. Elsevier. http://doi.org/10.1016/j.ctcp.2018.01.008]

Acupuncture for reducing anxiety and depression:

A 2013 clinical trial found that acupuncture had a large effect on reducing anxiety and depression when compared to conventional treatment, involving pharmalogical approaches and psychotherapy. That is acupuncture resulted in more than twice the reduction in symptoms of anxiety and depression when compared to usual pharmaceutical and psychotherapy treatments.
[Arvidsdotter, T., Marklund, B., & Taft, C. (2013). Effects of an integrative treatment, therapeutic acupuncture and conventional treatment in alleviating psychological distress in primary care patients--a pragmatic randomized controlled trial. BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 13(1), 308. http://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6882- 13-308]

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How does acupuncture reduce anxiety?

Acupuncture has a calming effect on the nervous system:

engages the parasympathetic nervous system to ease your body into a rest-relax-rejuvenation state of being.
signals the body to release endorphins which are the body’s own ‘feel-good’ chemicals
[Ribeiro SC, Kennedy SE, Smith YR, Stohler CS, Zubieta JK. Interface of physical and emotional stress regulation through the endogenous opioid system and μ-opioid receptors. Progress in Neuro-Psychopharmacology and Biological Psychiatry. 2005;1264-1280]
endorphins play an important role in regulation of emotional stress responses
[Harbach H, Moll B, Boedeker RH, et al. Minimal immunoreactive plasma β-endorphin and decrease of cortisol at standard analgesia or different acupuncture techniques. European Journal of Anaesthesiology. 2007; 24:370-6
Agelink MW, Sanner D, Eich H, Pach J, Bertling R, Lemmer W, Klieser E, Lehmann E. Does acupuncture influence the cardiac autonomic nervous system in patients with minor depression or anxiety disorders? Fortschritte der Neurologie-Psychiatrie. 2003;71:141-9 19.
Rickels K, Rynn M. Pharmacotherapy of generalized anxiety disorder. J Clin Psychiatry. 2002;63:Suppl 9-16 20.
Generoso MB, Trevizol AP, Kasper S, Cho HJ, Cordeiro Q, Shiozawa P. Pregabiln for generalized anxiety disorder: an updated systematic review and meta-analysis. 2017;32:49-55

Acupuncture improves Heart Rate Variability (HRV). HRV is simply a measure of the variation in time between each heartbeat. This variation is controlled by the automonic nervous system (ANS).The ANS is subdivided into two large components, the sympathetic (fight-flight-freeze) state and the parasympathetic nervous system (rest-relax-rejuvenation) state. HRV is an interesting and noninvasive way to identify any Autonomic Nervous system (ANS) imbalances. When the body is in ‘a fight-flight-freeze mode’, the variation between heartbeats is low. When the body is in a ‘rest-relax-rejuvenation’ state, the variation between heartbeats is high. So, the healthier your ANS is, the faster you are able to switch gears which is reflected in a high HRV. Your body shows more resilience and flexibility; and may be associated with better cardiovascular fitness. Research has shown a relationship between low HRV and worsening depression or anxiety. It is fascinating to see how HRV improves as you incorporate more mindfulness, meditation, sleep, and physical activity into your life.

[https://www.health.harvard.edu/blog/heart-rate-variability-new-way-track-well-2017112212789, accessed 21/9/21]

Acupuncture improves the body’s ability to cope with stress by improving HRV
[Chung, J. W. Y., Yan, V. C. M., & Zhang, H. (2014). Effect of Acupuncture on Heart Rate Variability: A Systematic Review. Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine, 2014(5), 1–19. http://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2982.2008.01164.x]

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