In my never-ending quest to cure to my anxiety, I have most recently tried acupuncture, a.k.a. being voluntarily stabbed with many tiny needles. This is what happened.
Consultation:
First, I went into the office for a 15 minute appointment where the acupuncturist explained the process to me, asked what my goals were and told me what would likely be my reaction. She even let me test the needle to see how scary it was (spoiler: it wasn’t). She said that it would probably take a few sessions before I saw any real results, and that different people’s bodies react differently. I thanked her and scheduled my first real appointment.
First Time:
I went back to the office and the acupuncturist had me lie down on a table that propped both my head and my knees up, with my shoes and socks off. She asked me how I’d been feeling recently, how I’d been sleeping and if I’d been very anxious. She even asked me to show her my tongue, though I’m still not sure why. Using my answers from these questions, she decided where she wanted to place the needles. I didn’t count exactly how many she used, but it was around 10 and she placed them in my legs, feet, my wrists, my ears, my forehead and the top of my head. It was a weird sensation, some of the needles kind of gave me a burning feeling and some I couldn’t feel at all. Then she put a head lamp over my feet, turned some soothing music on and left me to rest. It was hard to relax since I was oh so aware that there were needles protruding from my body, but I tried to think calming thoughts and my mind wandered. If nothing else, acupuncture is a good exercise in mindfulness and being aware of your body.
After my 45 minutes was up, she came back and took the needles out and told me to just pay attention to my body. I left and felt totally normal.
Reaction:
The next day, I woke up and tried to go about my daily routine but found myself utterly exhausted. I took two naps and my body felt like it was dragging. It’s totally possible that this was not in reaction to the acupuncture, maybe I was just fighting off sickness, but I was still aware that I was reacting to something. I did feel slightly less anxious over the next few days but then my anxiety returned full force.
Second Time:
For the second appointment, the acupuncturist only asked me about my sleep habits and my anxiety before deciding where to place the needles. The experience was pretty much the same and I left wondering if the acupuncture was working or if I was wasting my time.
Reaction:
My anxiety for the next week or so was calmer and I was not exhausted the way I was after the first appointment. I definitely didn’t have as strong of a reaction and that may be because my body was getting used to it.
Third Time:
This appointment went smoothly like the second one did. I paid attention to my body and felt it relax as I spent time lying down and adjusting to the needles. My time went more quickly and it’s possible that I fell asleep for a few minutes.
Reaction:
I was a little more tired than usual immediately after my appointment and I felt as though my heartbeat wasn’t racing quite as much as it usually was.
Conclusion:
I’ve only been to three appointments so far, but I do feel that my body reacts to acupuncture. It’s very possible that this is the placebo effect, or that my reactions are just coincidences, but I’m going to continue going to appointments to test the results. Even if the reactions are in my head, if going to acupuncture is making me feel better then I don’t see a problem. Acupuncture has been used to treat many problems, so if you’ve ever considered getting acupuncture, just try it to see if it’s right for you.
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