does acupucture work?

[dmaxxx]

i suffer from anxiety,stress and depression,im allways feeling wound up and on edge,i cant drink coffee as it sends me aywire and my nerves get worse,,ive tried every pill under the sun,,im sick of the doc giving me anti depressants...wot wud help me? im considering acupucture...plz help

[Jennykins]

yes...

[jake-the-peg]

It depend what you mean by work.

A lot of people see great improvement especially if they expect it will work - the placebo effect is very very strong.

I saw one double blind test on accupuncture where a set of medical students were trained in it. Half correctly and half incorrectly - nobody knew if they were doing it right.

There were slightly better results for those properly trained but they were not statistically significant. However many of those treated incorrectly found improvement.

So I guess it's yes if you approach it with a positive attitude and probably no if you don't

[WendyS]

It may be more helpful to analyse what is causing your anxiety, stress and depression in the first place and try to eliminate the causes of it or find a way of reducing the impact it has on you . Are you trying to cram too much into your life? Are you organised in planning what you have to do or do you let everything overtake you at the last minute?. Do you make sufficient time for relaxing your body, i.e. sitting or lying quietly and practicing deep breathing? Are some of your personal relationships particularly stressful and could you avoid those individuals or resolve the issues to reduce the stress? Are people making too many demands on you?
If you could write down all the problems which are causing this state and under each one of them write down what you could do to change things, maybe the way forward might appear a little clearer to you. Sometimes, stepping back and trying to view your problems from a distance can help clarify your mind.

[Jay70]

I agree with Wendy 100%. I dont want to seem rude but you need to get your state of mind sorted really. It happened to me and you need to find a way to be calm and composed in your mind. That way you can take most things that are thrown at you. It's not easy but it's the best option. I wish you all the best as I know how it feels. I went from being a very non nervous, careful calm person to a bag of nerves. I think it was down to pressure / stress but I let it get the better of me. I didn't know what was wrong with me and was worried about going to the Doc. But after taking time out and being calm and relaxed I could see what I was doing wrong and everthything clicked back into place. I didn't take anything but it was hard. best wishes jay.

[little coojy]

i know how you feel ive sufferd with this for the past 5 years having panic attacks etc at one point i was house bound with agrophobia for 8 months some days its still hard, i foind counsilling helps and i do a ocd course once a week its hard and you tend to find every excuse not to do it, it drives me mad when people say its all in the mind, maybe but it doesnt stop you having physical reactions to it that are as real as they come which has been proven through medical examinations, i wish there was a magic wand or remady to make things all better but unfortunutly there isnt it takes a lot of hard work and paitiance to see the light at the end of that tunnel but you can get there, give the accupuncture ago i would be interested to know how it works out ive tried loads of things including hypnoses, its hard to find the root of problem, you brain can block things of so even tho its affecting you you cant remember it, hugs to you hope you get there soon.

[Litchick]

dnaxxx, try yoga or some other exercise you think you might enjoy. Really does work.xx

[Playaxvx]

I suffer from anxiety, slight depression and panic attacks. i went to have acupuncture for months but it did not work... then i told my doctor and he giggled at me telling me not to believe in all that witch doctor stuff lol. then went to see a Therapist...my advice... try this as it helped me a great deal. good luck :)