Stress & Anxiety Relief
through Acupuncture

Stress and anxiety affect everyone, but some people suffer more deeply from ongoing stress and anxiety. Both anxiety and stress can place a tremendous amount of strain on our physical and emotional health and negatively impact our overall well-being. If these disrupters are not treated, they can easily begin to interfere with our daily lives.

While many people remain skeptical of acupuncture treatment, it has been proven to effectively treat both stress and anxiety, while at the same time offer additional health benefits. At Gainesville Holistic Healthcare, we have certified Gainesville acupuncture professionals who can help treat your stress, anxiety, and their associated symptoms.

How Acupuncture Can
Help with Anxiety & Stress

Acupuncture manipulates natural chemical reactions and metabolic function in the body, promoting the body’s natural ability of healing, triggering the nervous system to produce certain chemicals such as painkillers, and stimulating parts of the brain that produce hormones and control them to offset anxiety and stress.

Anxiety and stress often go hand-in-hand and originate at the hypothalamus, a region of the forebrain. Acupuncture targets the hypothalamus through the stimulation of nerves to balance and regulate hormonal levels to prevent anxiety and stress. Because acupuncture directly treats the main pathways of anxiety and stress,patients notice results as soon as the first session. Patients who undergo acupuncture treatments usually feel that their bodies are better balanced and notice their energy levels increase.

The Negative Impacts of Stress

Stress is a common feeling caused by any number of external forces. Whether you feel stress due to classwork, employment, family issues, health concerns, or even construction during a commute, it can throw off our physical and mental equilibrium.

Stress was developed as a survival mechanism for our bodies to protect ourselves against life-threatening situations such as predators. When facing such dangers, the hypothalamus sends signals to the adrenal gland to release hormones such as adrenaline and cortisol. While we might not worry about predators nowadays, our bodies react the same way when feeling overpressured, perceiving stressors as threats.

When the body releases adrenaline and cortisol, these hormones affect various body functions until the threat has passed. However, when our bodies experience stress over an extended period of time, our hormone levels don’t return to normal. As a result, the adrenaline increases blood pressure, heart rate, and energy. Cortisol increases glucose levels in the bloodstream, activates the central nervous system, suppresses the digestive system, and alters immune responses.

With chronic stress, when stressors are prolonged, these responses negatively affect physical and emotional health. They can cause blood sugar imbalances, digestive issues, sleeping problems, depression, and impaired cognitive function, as well as lower the immune system, create headaches, and cause weight gain.

The Negative Impacts of Anxiety

It’s normal to feel anxious every once in a while when facing difficult situations. Normal levels of anxiety can be beneficial because they help us stay alert and focused, and spur us into action in challenging situations. However, when worries and fears become overwhelming, constant anxiety can begin to take a toll on our bodies and interfere with daily activities and relationships.

Some of the physical symptoms of anxiety include excessive sweating, restlessness, insomnia, increased heart rate, nausea, loss of appetite, upset stomach, frequent urination or irregular bowel movements, shortness of breath, muscle tension, and even tremors. Emotional symptoms can include irritability, trouble concentrating, hypervigilance, and unwanted thoughts. Sometimes anxiety or panic attacks can even occur. These tend to last a couple of minutes and are characterized by a surge of overwhelming panic, shortness of breath, increased heart palpitations, hyperventilation, chills, and shaking.

Acupuncture Gainesville, FL Residents Can Depend On

Acupuncture offers a quicker and safer method of treatment for stress and anxiety than Western practices. At Gainesville Holistic Healthcare, we offer acupuncture Gainesville residents can trust so that they can enjoy a healthy life free from debilitating stress and anxiety. Schedule an appointment with us today and see for yourself the advantages of acupuncture treatment.