Can Acupuncture Help PTSD?

Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) can originate from various causes ranging from aggression to violence or disasters. Any situation causing emotional, physical or mental trauma can result in PTSD. The use of acupuncture for PTSD has been scientifically proven to show reduced anxiety levels and stress in individuals. Through such Chinese forms of treatment, it is easier for affected individuals to regain composure in daily life activities.

Typically acupuncture for PTSD is administered by stimulating specific auricular points in the body. These points of the body are responsible for controlling particular brain areas that help control nervous functioning as well as mitigate stress levels. Many soldiers who have been victims of PTSD after violent wars are being treated with acupuncture to provide successful results. Recently, the Pentagon has been investigating the beneficial effects of acupuncture for PTSD on soldiers affected with this condition. As per findings from recent trials, it has been found that combat veterans were relieved of their symptoms and experienced reduced depression, as well as pain. The improvements due to acupuncture were also found to be very rapid and significant.

Many natural remedies are used to treat PTSD disorders in affected individuals. However, out of all these remedies acupuncture seems to be most effective for treatment. Different studies like those conducted by Dr. Hollifield at Department of Psychiatry in University of New Mexico, show that acupuncture can be used successfully as natural treatment for PTSD symptoms like depression, anxiety, insomnia as well as pain originating from psychosomatic disorders. The healing effects of acupuncture last over three months post-treatment. Unlike other conventional psychiatric treatments that are exposure-oriented (in that they require patients to reconstruct traumatic incidents), acupuncture for PTSD does not expose the patient to such elements and hence is safer and non-intrusive.

Studies conducted by the Pentagon have revealed that most soldiers affected by PTSD would be more inclined to accept non-exposure treatments such as acupuncture for PTSD. The biggest reason for this is because the soldiers need not share such traumatic experiences with their psychiatrist. Besides, acupuncture has been revealed to provide rapid benefits to patients through faster healing. Ear acupuncture on veteran soldiers located in Vermont has helped many overcome sleep disorders originating due to PTSD. The benefits of acupuncture for PTSD has translated into greater word of mouth as more people recommend acupuncture as a successful alternative medicine and treatment to conventional treatments.

As per a recent collaboration between Nityamo Lian DOM and another student from International Institute of Chinese Medicine, there has been the development of a conventional "point prescription" mode of treatment along with scope for individual variation. Thus, while the standard treatment details a holistic set of points in the body that need stimulation through acupuncture, these point treatments can also be customized to suit individual cases. Persons with severe PTSD symptoms might require a slightly different form of acupuncture as compared to those persons with milder symptoms.

This article originally appeared on http://www.pacificcollege.edu/news/blog/2015/01/08/acupuncture-ptsd