Acupuncture Helps to Relieve Depression

What you need to know

Contact our office at (425) 686-4498 to schedule your consult today with Dr. Heintze today to learn how we can help you relieve depression!

Can acupuncture help relieve depression?

At Starting Point Acupuncture and Wellness in Bothell, WA, we are commonly asked what can acupuncture and naturopathic medicine treat besides pain? Our response is…well just about everything! Since acupuncture works by using your parasympathetic nervous system to push your body to heal itself, a good “side effect” from most acupuncture treatments is the overall sense of better emotional stability and well being. Acupuncture works to treat depression by finding the root cause of the person’s systems, through a thorough assessment, diagnosis, and treatment with either acupuncture and natural therapies. Causes are vast but most commonly are related to emotional imbalances, nutrient deficiencies, hormonal, or stress and situational depression.

Can acupuncture help relieve depression

What do the studies say?

A multitude of studies have been done which demonstrate the effectiveness of acupuncture in treating stress and relieving depression but a recent study by University of New York researchers shows that acupuncture is a clinically viable adjunct to treating patients who do not respond to regular treatment.

The study demonstrated that acupuncture affected gene expression in patients who did not respond to regular medication and thus demonstrated significant, positive results for the patients. The study found that acupuncture can positively affect brain biochemistry to regulate the gene expression related to depression. With depression affecting approximately 20 million people in the United States alone, advancements in our understanding of acupuncture as an adjunctive treatment to regular medication can provide a huge help to increasing mood.

If you or someone you know suffers from depression and regular medication simply doesn’t cut it then consult a doctor about acupuncture as well as it may just change your life.