stress and anxiety

If you suffer from stress and anxiety, you are not alone. Anxiety disorders are the most common mental health disorders today. In addition to the usual stressors that New Yorkers grapple with (like work-life balance, long work hours, and irregular work schedules), the pandemic has heightened stress in these areas and added to feelings of uncertainty and groundlessness. While we know that we cannot change your circumstances, we strive to offer holistic treatments that break the cycle of chronic anxiety and help you to feel more like yourself. 

What Is Stress?

Stress is a normal response to physical and emotional challenges and changes in your life. Stress engages the sympathetic system (part of the autonomic nervous system), also called the “fight or flight” response. This response has been hard-wired into us since prehistoric times when predators were a real concern. Engagement of the fight or flight response sends increased blood flow to our extremities, increases heart rate, suppresses digestion, dilates our pupils, and releases adrenaline, so we are alert and ready to fight or run for our lives. However, in prehistoric times when our primary stressors were encounters with predators, the situation would fully resolve (either with our death, or escape). With the threat fully resolved, our nervous system would shift toward the opposing “rest and digest” system. Today, train delays, deadlines, relationship conflicts, the pandemic, and a multitude of other stressors can trigger our fight or flight response, but typically do not resolve in the same way. Instead, they can cause us to enter into a state of chronic stress. 

Chronic stress is often referred to as a “silent killer” because it is known to cause or correlate with a number of other health problems including:

What Is Anxiety?

Like stress, anxiety is a normal response in certain situations, but can become a problem if it becomes chronic. Anxiety is often felt as excessive or constant worry. Some common symptoms include:

Does Acupuncture Work for Stress and Anxiety?

Yes, acupuncture can help manage stress and reduce anxiety. Acupuncture triggers the body to release endorphins which are natural mood-boosting hormones. It also regulates the autonomic nervous system and engages the body’s “rest and digest” mode for improved healing and a sense of calm. Many of our patients find that with regular acupuncture they are able to handle stressful situations with more resilience.

Where Chinese Medicine Comes In

Acupuncture is an amazing tool for managing chronic stress and anxiety. As mentioned previously, our fight or flight response is engaged when we are stressed. Acupuncture has a regulatory effect on the autonomic system, shifting the body from fight or flight to “rest and digest” (or the parasympathetic response). The body needs to enter into “rest or digest” mode regularly for optimal health. One way to think about the rest and digest response, is that our body understands that we are not in danger, and that the body’s resources can be directed to internal healing and digestion. Acupuncture also triggers the release of “feel good hormones” including endorphins and serotonin.

Whether stress and anxiety is your primary health concern or a secondary complaint, you will benefit from the way acupuncture regulates the nervous system. Treating stress is incredibly important because stress often contributes to flare-ups of other conditions such as chronic pain and digestive issues.

Getting Started

Many people feel that they should be able to deal with whatever is put on their plate, regardless of how much or how difficult it is. As a result, many people let their stress and anxiety go untreated. At Gotham Holistic Acupuncture and Integrative Medicine, we believe there is no shame in getting help with these issues, and that there is often not enough acknowledgment of how life events and experiences can cause stress. Even happy events and transitions can be stressful in their own way and we want to honor that and provide the support our patients need to feel resilient and grounded. To get started, schedule your appointment online to meet with our licensed and experienced acupuncturist to find out how we can help you with stress and anxiety.

Sources

1. Li QQ, Shi GX, Xu Q, Wang J, Liu CZ, Wang LP. Acupuncture effect and central autonomic regulation. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2013;2013:267959. doi: 10.1155/2013/267959. Epub 2013 May 26. PMID: 23762116; PMCID: PMC3677642.
2. Scott E. What is Chronic Stress [Internet]. Verywell Mind. Verywell Mind; 2020 [cited 2022Jan22]. Available from: https://www.verywellmind.com/chronic-stress-3145104#:~:text=Chronic%20stress%20is%20a%20prolonged,work%20or%20by%20traumatic%20situations. 
3. Stress: Signs, symptoms, management & prevention [Internet]. Cleveland Clinic. 2021 [cited 2022Jan22]. Available from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/11874-stress 
4. Understanding the stress response [Internet]. Harvard Health. 2020 [cited 2022Jan22]. Available from: https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/understanding-the-stress-response