Should You Try Acupuncture for Anxiety?

When you're stressed, the idea of having multiple needles pierce your skin might not sound like self-care. However, traditional Chinese medicine has used acupuncture for thousands of years to alleviate pain and treat other medical conditions.

For anxiety, acupuncture needles go in areas like the insides of your wrists, between your eyes, and the ears. The practice also has anecdotal and scientific evidence backing up its effectiveness. Here's what you need to know about acupuncture for anxiety including benefits, risks, and home remedies.

Does Acupuncture Work for Anxiety?

Yes, it does. "Acupuncture eases anxiety by regulating the nervous system, specifically by bringing the branches of the autonomic nervous system back into balance," Ashley Flores, a licensed acupuncturist in Chicago, told Health. "Acupuncture treatment helps shift the body back into a relaxed state where the sympathetic system is more balanced and no longer dominating."

According to Chinese medicine, energy, or "qi," flows up and down pathways in the body.

"Sometimes the energy is blocked, deficient, excessive, or unbalanced. This puts the body out of balance and in turn, causes illness," Elizabeth Trattner, a board-certified doctor of Chinese and integrative medicine who practices in Miami Beach, Florida, told Health. "Acupuncture restores homeostasis and encourages healing."

How It Works

As a part of traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture uses a "whole system," or holistic," approach to health. The holistic approach may include recommendations for:

• Exercise—Qi Gong and Tai Chi in particular
• Nutrition
• Phytotherapy (utilizing medicines that come from plants and herbs)
• Psychotherapy

"We don't separate the physical and mental aspects [of a patient], as they're both intimately tied together," explained Trattner. For example, you may tell an acupuncturist you're feeling anxious and waking up sweaty in the middle of the night. Yet, they won't think you're complaining about two totally different issues.

Instead, you just described symptoms of one of the most common explanations for anxiety in Chinese medicine: "yin deficiency." Yin, along with yang, allows a person to have aligned qi. Yin deficiency indicates problems related to emotion, and symptoms can include anxiety, night sweats, tension, and depression.

What Happens in a Session?

An acupuncturist will work with you to understand your health goals before placing any needles in the acupuncture points, which are located on 'channels' in a three-dimensional space under the skin (mostly in the fascia). As part of your initial assessment, you'll do a thorough medical history walkthrough with the practitioner.

Then, you'll relax on a comfortable table, typically face up, while very fine needles—about the width of a hair—are carefully inserted under the surface of your skin. When placed correctly, they shouldn't hurt. The needles stay in for about 30 minutes, and though it varies depending on the acupuncturist, some will leave you in the room with a heat lamp, blanket, essential oils, or soothing sound frequencies playing.

Where Do Acupuncture Needles Go for Anxiety?

The needles don't just go in random spots across your body. They must be inserted into acupoints—very specific locations based on your physical or mental symptoms. Points for anxiety may include:

• Between your eyebrows
• Insides of your wrists
• On the feet
• Your breastbone or ears
  

What Are the Benefits?

One review looked at 20 studies of acupuncture in people with generalized anxiety disorder. The authors' conclusion: Acupuncture can be beneficial in reducing anxiety symptoms when compared to medication, sham acupuncture, and other non-acupuncture therapies.

Still, it's not clear whether people with other types of anxiety might benefit. More high-quality randomized controlled trials are needed to understand how effective acupuncture might be in treating different types of anxiety disorders, such as:

• Agoraphobia
• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Panic disorder
• Phobias
• Selective mutism
• Separation anxiety disorder
• Social anxiety disorder

Also, acupuncture for anxiety can sometimes be helpful for surgical procedures. One study compared acupuncture and pharmacological treatment. People who had acupuncture before gallbladder surgery or hernia repair had less preoperative anxiety than those who took the anti-anxiety medication Midazolam, a type of benzodiazepine.

In general, acupuncture has other benefits. Many studies on acupuncture's therapeutic effects focus on low-back, neck, and knee pain and headaches. There's also some evidence that acupuncture may be useful for easing anxiety in people with chronic pain. One review suggested that acupuncture may regulate regions of the brain that play a role in both pain and emotion.

What Are the Potential Risks and Side Effects?

Acupuncture is relatively safe if you visit a skilled, board-certified practitioner who uses sterile needles. Single-use disposable needles are the industry standard. Avoid practitioners who use nonsterile needles and improper acupuncture procedures, as this is not safe or standard, and could result in complications. You could experience side effects such as:

• Bleeding
• Central nervous system injury
• Faintness during the session
• Hematoma—bad bruising
• Infections
• Needle pain
• Punctured organs

Still, if you work with a properly trained and certified practitioner, the risks are minimal.

What Can You Do at Home?

Acupuncture needles can only be sold to licensed, qualified acupuncture practitioners, per U.S. Food and Drug Administration regulations. Certified acupuncture practitioners go through a lot of training to learn acupuncture point locations and palpation.

However, you could try acupressure: Research has shown that it's effective in reducing anxiety. Acupressure uses the same principles as acupuncture—just without needles. A person can use their hands, fingers, thumbs, or a stylus/probe to apply pressure to certain acupoints and get relief from symptoms.

A Quick Review

If you're feeling anxious, acupuncture may be worth a try. Research has shown that the practice can be effective in reducing anxiety symptoms. There are minimal risks and side effects of doing acupuncture when done correctly and with sterile needles. Talk with a healthcare provider or acupuncturist before doing acupuncture for anxiety to determine if it's right for you.