Anxiety
- Posted on: Feb 1 2017
Anxiety can be overwhelming and relentless, and if not kept in proper perspective can tear your mind apart with the many directions stress can take someone. On the other hand, not dealing with stress/anxiety and opting to ignore it can lead to panic attacks, obsessive thoughts, flashbacks of traumatic events, nightmares, or countless other frightening physical symptoms. Anxiety disorders, as a group, are the most common mental illness in America. More than 19 million American adults are affected by these debilitating illnesses each year. Here are some of the ways in which anxiety can manifest itself:
• Panic Disorder—Repeated episodes of intense fear that strike often and without warning. Physical symptoms include chest pain, heart palpitations, shortness of breath, dizziness, abdominal distress, feelings of unreality, and fear of dying.
• Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder—Repeated, unwanted thoughts or compulsive behaviors that seem impossible to stop or control.
• Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder—Persistent symptoms that occur after experiencing or witnessing a traumatic event such as rape or other criminal assault, war, child abuse, natural or human-caused disasters, or crashes. Nightmares, flashbacks, numbing of emotions, depression, and feeling angry, irritable or distracted and being easily startled are common. Family members of victims can also develop this disorder.
• Generalized Anxiety Disorder—Constant, exaggerated worrisome thoughts and tension about everyday routine life events and activities, lasting at least six months. Almost always anticipating the worst even though there is little reason to expect it accompanied by physical symptoms, such as fatigue, trembling, muscle tension, headache, or nausea.
Treatments have been largely developed through research conducted by NIMH and other research institutions. They help many people with anxiety disorders and often combine medication and specific types of psychotherapy. An alternative and drug free way in which to treat anxiety is through the ancient medical art of acupuncture.
Dealing with the complications of modern life requires some form of stress management. Acupuncture can be an ideal therapy to use in conjunction with lifestyle changes to help you combat stress and enter a more harmonious state. When your body is subjected to constant stress, this stagnation of circulation causes a variety of physical and mental symptoms, such as anger, depression, cold limbs, irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), tight tendons and muscles, headaches, and pain.
The deep unwinding that occurs during acupuncture treatment parallels the effects of meditation, allowing you to release the stress and begin to perceive your stress from a different perspective.
As acupuncture helps the mind relax, the body returns to a more balanced state. This can improve the functioning of your organ systems, and in turn help you to manage stress more effectively. Digestion is one system of the body that is easily disturbed by stress leading to common stress reactions of IBS, vomiting, and diarrhea. By supporting the digestive system, the entire body becomes stronger and better able to handle the next stressful situation.
At AOSMI we start therapy with digging for the real root of the discomfort and from this we can discern what is the real underlying problem. This one-on-one approach is the hallmark of our company and is what sets us apart!!!
By: Moises Moris Jr.
Sources:
National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
www.nimh.nih.gov
Posted in: Acupuncture
