I received my monthly 'Acupuncture Today' and was thrilled to see an article on a program helping Vets recover from PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder). To paraphrase the article, The Academy of Oriental Medicine at Austin had partnered with a non profit called Save a Vet (http://www.saveavet.com/) and a Veterans Advocacy council to assist in helping veterans and their families in returning to happy, productive and successful civilian lives. Now it is very easy for all of us to undertstand how anyone coming back from war could be given a diagnosis of PTSD. Just like we probably could understand such a diagnosis with those who are now suffering with the aftermath of the earthquake in Haiti. But PTSD is actually very widespread, and whether it is diagnosed or not, the symptoms can be debilitating for anyone suffering from any trauma. Losing a family member, workplace harrassment, being in a motor vehicle accident or even witnessing a horrific accident can all lead to trauma. And this trauma, if not dealt with, finds a place in the body and eventually comes out in physiological ways too...such as sleep disorders and mood disorders. That is where acupuncture comes in.
When I decided to study even more about neurotransmitters and brain science and go into working with acupuncture for depression and anxiety, I knew the trauma piece was just as important. I am fortunate to have a great referral network of western practitioners who believe in what I do as much as I believe in what they do. When you do this work you have to know about medication and its side effects since many people may be on, or coming off of various western medications. Chinese herbs as well as nutritional supplements can help but all have various effects themselves, so a licensed practitioner has to know what to combine and what not to.
So how does acupuncture work for PTSD?
I have found over the years of working with trauma that is is best to nourish the client first. Every client is coming in at different stages of trauma. To move 'Qi' right away is a mistake that many practitioners make and can send a patient into an anxiety attack. So can too many needles and doing too many different types of therapies at once, such as doing cupping, then needling, then biopuncture. It's asking the body to process too much information at once. Keeping the therapy simple and working to move the stagnant energy blocked by the certain emotions that that client is holding onto while you ground the client and get that 'fight or flight' response to calm down. That's a very simplified version of a first treatment.
I also practice japanese style needling with trauma which is generally less invasive, but to be honest this is because I myself am needle sensitive and when I graduated from my Masters program this type of needling was just the type I felt drawn to. But for sports injuries of course it's chinese needling all the way :). And as anyone who has been to my clinic can attest to, I always do auricular, ear acupuncture, for everything. That is my love! And that is SO significant in trauma work.
With the ear is where you work on the sympathetic nervous system, that 'fight or flight', and stop it being 'on' 24/7. It is the norm for people who have been traumatized to have their defenses up and their fight or flight switch on all the time. What happens when you have that on all the time is you start to perceive danger at the smallest things.....you startle easily, you anger easily and you basically become a walking raw nerve. Sleep disorders become the norm, as well as mood disorders, so insomnia and anxiety and depression are very common.
When you incorporate the ear and start needling the areas of the brain that are affected in trauma, such as the amygdala and hippocampus, you can have such breakthroughs. Sleep gets better, energy gets balanced and moods improve. It is amazing to see the transformation in clients.
I think the biggest step for those with any trauma is always just making the first appointment and coming in. It is a huge deal to be given a diagnosis of PTSD and feeling so vulnerable. But help is out there.
*Sidenote: for those needle phobic or with trauma related to needles, all my treatments can be done with a shonishin (pediatric) kit...no needles. And auricular acupuncture can be done with ear seeds.
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