Acupuncture for Depression
If you are experiencing feelings of depression where it’s really beginning to affect your life, I encourage you to consider the following solution as a drug-free alternative that’s being used more and more in the professional medical field: biomedical acupuncture.
First, let’s begin with a basic premise of human physiology. The brain has an abundant storehouse of biochemicals for emotional balance. Think of it like a pharmaceutical company. Whenever the brain or the body needs something specific, the brain will release the chemical. As it relates to mood disorders or depression, there are many levels to depression. We’re going to discuss one aspect of the biochemistry of depression, which relates to a neurotransmitter called serotonin.
Now, serotonin has many roles. In addition to increasing mood, it also helps reduce pain, and this is where acupuncture plays a major role. Through the stimulation of acupuncture, we release what are called enkephalins, which are very powerful painkillers, as well as serotonin, the body’s natural antidepressant, both of which get cascaded from the brain.
We often have a joke in our center. If you videotaped people coming into our center from a long hard day where they’re looking and feeling kind of grumpy or grouchy because of a tough day at work or an argument with significant other, and then viewed them after treatment, they come out looking and feeling happy, relaxed, and they’ve got a new bounce in their step. It would look like we were giving them drugs! Well, we’re not giving anyone drugs, but we are stimulating the storehouse of drugs in the brain by way of biomedical acupuncture.
Now, if the patient has an abundant storehouse of serotonin, within a short period of time, acupuncture will have a profound effect on increasing their mood. If we do not see a significant enough change within a period of treatments, then we integrate the acupuncture with dietary, herbal, and nutritional therapy to help build up the storehouse of serotonin.
For example, because blood sugar is the primary delivery system for serotonin into the brain, a patient with low blood sugar needs their blood sugar increased to stabilize them. On the flip side, if their blood sugar is too high, it can lead to excessive serotonin, which will bombard neurons in the brain. Now at first glance, you may think that’s great! More serotonin! Not so fast. It turns out that high amounts of neurotransmitters bombarding the brain actually activate a protective mechanism. This reduces sensitivity and therefore serotonin is unable to be used by the brain. End product: feelings of depression.
Interestingly, the location that stores the highest amounts of serotonin is the gut. Thus, one of the primary areas we work on is digestion to increase serotonin, helping to improve mood.
By combining acupuncture with dietary, herbal, and nutritional therapy as well as clinical nutrition such as blood tests, hormone panels, and other diagnostic tests, we create a synergistic effect that is greater than any one part. This is the integrative approach that we utilize at the Center for Integrative Care for Depression and Mood Disorders.
If you want to learn more about how we can assist you with your specific health concern and how we can best integrate the use of natural medicine along with your current health care in a safe and effective way, call (619) 287-4005 to schedule a free consultation with one of our functional medicine specialists. They will answer any questions you have to find out if and how we can help you with your healthcare needs.