Acupuncture for Depression

Karen had been taking Zoloft for three years, but was having trouble with its side effects. Serzone didn't help, and Paxil (40 mg) only seemed to get her right back where she started - grateful to feel human again, but not at all happy with her excess sleep, weight gain, and loss of sexuality. Karen had originally turned to acupuncture for her flu and bronchitis, and found it worked wonders. Now she wondered if acupuncture could help her depression.

Acupuncture originated in China at least 2,000 years ago, and moved to the west in the 1970s as part of a greater awakening that included yoga, meditation, new diets, and other so-called alternative fare. At first, its availability was limited by the scarcity of practitioners, but now there are an estimated 20,000 certified acupuncturists in the US, and one third of these are medical doctors. According to FDA figures from 1993, Americans are making 9 to 12 million visits a year and spending as much as $500 million to have needles strategically placed along the invisible latitude and longitude lines of their skins.

To paraphrase from the National Institutes of Health:

There are more than 2,000 acupuncture points on the body connecting with 12 main and eight secondary pathways called meridians, which conduct energy - chi or qi - between the surface of the body and the internal organs.

According to the NIH:

"Qi regulates spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical balance. Qi is influenced by the opposing forces of yin and yang. According to traditional Chinese medicine, when yin and yang are balanced, they work together with the natural flow of qi to help the body achieve and maintain health. Acupuncture is believed to balance yin and yang, keep the normal flow of energy unblocked, and restore health to the body and mind."

A western interpretation would be that the acupuncture points stimulate the central nervous system, releasing chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain, promoting the body's natural healing abilities. In the words of the NIH: "Studies have shown that acupuncture may alter brain chemistry by changing the release of neurotransmitters and neurohormones in a good way."

An NIH consensus panel of scientists, researchers, and practitioners in 1997 determined that acupuncture has been clinically proven to be effective against nausea from surgery and chemotherapy, addiction, headaches, menstrual cramps, tennis elbow, fibromyalgia, myofascial pain, osteoarthritis, lower back pain, carpal tunnel syndrome, and asthma, and to assist in stroke rehabilitation. Since then, other studies have looked at pain, ADHD, pregnancy complications, and other diseases and conditions.

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