Stress, Anxiety & Insomnia
Modern living is both stressful and anxiety provoking, we live in a sea of information overload, poor work-rest balance, financial worries, distressing headlines and relationship concerns. The sheer volume of symptoms and problems that people in Jersey are experiencing reflect this.
Unhealthy chronic and acute tension causes us to be in a state of continual alert of a perceived threat. The brains job is to assess a potential threat and help you avoid harm by scanning your environment even when you are not aware of it. Lifesaving when you step off a pavement and need a shot of adrenalin to enable you to jump out of the way of a car, but soul destroying if you are simply tired, overstretched and feeling put upon, which your primal brain can easily interpret as a ‘threat’.
Your treatment plan
After a thorough medical history and examination procedure treatment needs to address the underlying causes and any exacerbating factors.
It can take time to ‘down regulate’ adrenal and other stress responses to a normal level, if your threat response is turned up high. Health Point Clinic's goal is to help support you with a step-by-step personalised plan that aims to engage the correct coping mechanisms specific to your own personal needs, to help decrease your reaction to stress and increase your coping mechanisms for anxiety.
Acupuncture
Certain acupuncture points have been shown to affect areas of the brain that are known to reduce sensitivity to pain and stress, as well as promoting relaxation and deactivating the ‘analytical’ brain, which is responsible for anxiety (1). Acupuncture can also be safely combined with conventional treatments such as talk therapy and pharmaceutical drugs for more severe cases. Customised dietary and lifestyle changes will be discussed where needed to speed progress.
Massage
A combination of bodywork such as tui na, acupressure, massage, reflexology, relaxation, breathing and mindful awareness exercises are also a core strategy that has proven helpful for many people.
Other Lifestyle factors - Creating restful sleep patterns, making sure you have the right diet, nutrients and nourishing eating habits are also key, as well as addressing any emotional issues that may be involved.
British Acupuncture Research Fact Sheets - For further information please take a look at the related issues section on the right hand-side of the screen.
- Wu MT et al. Central nervous pathway for acupuncture stimulation: localization of processing with functional MR imaging of the brain-- preliminary experience. Radiology 1999; 212: 133-41.