Acupuncture is often used to decrease physical pain but its ability to ease emotional pain is equally profound. It can be useful during incidents of immediate stress and even years following a traumatic event. Worldwide, acupuncture is considered an effective, drug-free component to crisis response. Recent examples include acupuncture trauma clinics that were set up in response to the Sandy Hook shooting in Newtown, the Boston marathon bombing, Calgary flooding, and in Nepal for women and children survivors of human trafficking. Increasingly, one will find an acupuncturist inside a mobile Red Cross center. The U.S. military has been using acupuncture for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) since 2008 and continues to expand its program.
The Debilitating Symptoms of PTSD
Stress, a normal response to a traumatic event, can make a person feel out of control and uncomfortable. Fear, stress, anxiety, horror, night terrors, despair, and a sense of hopelessness are among the debilitating components of PTSD, as is the experience of feeling unsafe and ungrounded. Categorized as an anxiety disorder, PTSD stems from an emotional disturbance that was caused by a traumatic event.
Acupuncture Calms the Mind
Studies show that acupuncture can reduce symptoms of stress, which allows a body to begin the healing process. Acupuncture calms the mind and helps people regain composure. A significant benefit of acupuncture is that it does not require an individual to actually talk about the event, which may not be possible during periods of intense anxiety. And, since it is common for sufferers of PTSD to self-medicate with alcohol, drugs or excess eating, calming the mind is a first step towards breaking these addictions.
Acupuncture promotes a sense of serenity and wellbeing and is an effective option for treatment of PTSD because of its roots in multiple aspects of traditional Chinese medicine. The diverse symptoms of PTSD can be explained and addressed by the comprehensive theory in Chinese medicine, which is founded on the premise that no dualism exists between body and spirit. The body is the material basis for the mind. A standard acupuncture prescription addresses common symptoms of exposure to trauma or PTSD by corresponding to the organ/meridian energy lines. This is why acupuncture is a comprehensive approach to emotional disturbances.
Body and Mind Pairings in Chinese Medicine
Fear and Kidney Energy
Paranoia, insecurity and a sense of defeat are often associated with disturbances of the organ system/energy in the kidney meridians. Research shows that PTSD patients process a traumatic memory differently than other memories. Traumatic memory tends to promote a cycle of fear and stress response. Feelings of numbness and an inability to get out of bed can be linked to total depression of kidney energy.
Stress and Liver Energy
A disturbance in liver Qi presents as surges of anger, despair, and insomnia. The memory of a traumatic event causes erratic and stagnant energy in the liver meridian. PTSD is associated with a specific pattern in which the brain holds the memory. While most memories fade, memories of traumatic events do not; they can trigger the release of stress-provoking chemicals in the brain repetitively. The perception of the event is different from other memories as it is associated with surges of the emotions connected with that memory. Commonly referred to as flashbacks, these painful memories perpetuate the cycle.
Grief and Lung Energy
Disturbances of the energy flowing in the lung meridian are strongly associated with loss, anxiety, bouts of sadness, and an erratic flow of emotions. An acupuncture treatment inherently addresses lung conditions because patients are seated or lying still for the duration of the session, which generally lasts an hour. Acupuncture requires the patient to focus on the breath and this exercise naturally restores regularity to the flow of air through the lungs.
Depression and Heart Energy
An inability to connect with others, a lack of enjoyment in life, palpitations, and insomnia are all associated with the heart in traditional Chinese medicine. The heart organ/meridian is understood to house ‘shen’ or the spirit of the individual. PTSD can be an expression of what is known as the broken heart archetype.
How Acupuncture is Applied
A typical acupuncture treatment protocol to relieve post-traumatic stress includes five thin, sterilized, disposable needles applied gently to points in each ear. Acupuncturists create a safe, quiet space that invites and encourages a person to feel calm. Patients describe experiencing a positive, transformative affect that occurs quickly and can last for a week or more. Studies have shown that acupuncture twice per week for 12 weeks is of benefit to those experiencing PTSD. Twenty-four months later, the beneficial effects are reported to continue.
Acupuncture is most successful when it is a component of a holistic plan tailored to the individual. Many healing practices exist that are easy to learn, including mantra meditation, mindfulness meditation, metta meditation, qigong, conscious breathing (counting to three with each in-breath and each out-breath, for example), progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, tai chi, and self-acupressure. Art, journaling or expressive dance also can help ease the mind. Even simply connecting with nature can be calming and as easy as taking a walk, enjoying a garden, or sitting at a park.
Kara Burkhart is a naturopathic physician and licensed acupuncturist practicing at Salūd Primary Care and Integrative Medicine in Farmington, CT and West Hartford Yoga. She has a passion for finding natural solutions for anxiety, depression, and PTSD.