How to Reduce Depression with Acupressure

How to Reduce Depression with Acupressure

Depression and anxiety are common conditions that seem to affect more and more people every day and affect all aspects of life. Because depression can affect a person's personal and professional life, it is important to seek treatment as soon as possible. Sometimes a few sessions with a counselor can work, sometimes a psychiatrist is necessary. When medical interventions such as prescription medications are taken, they can cause side effects. People who have been taking antidepressants for over five years tend to gain weight because the drugs fundamentally alter metabolism. They feel relaxed but crave sweets with their blood sugar levels on a roller coaster. Over the past 20 years, acupuncture and acupressure have become increasingly popular because they can improve people's mental health and waistline at the same time.

Acupressure and acupuncture can do the work of antidepressants without side effects

Studies have shown that acupressure and acupuncture are very effective ways to help people combat depression and treat the side effects of medications such as indigestion, weight gain and insomnia. Acupuncturists give lectures to teach people to apply pressure to specific acupuncture points and release the energy, or “qi.” It is important to remember that combining acupuncture and acupressure can help the body produce the “feel good” hormones such as dopamine, serotonin and endorphins much more efficiently than just going to the acupuncture clinic once or twice a week. Deep breathing in and out can calm the body and mind and make the session more effective.

Alternative medicine has many supporters

It is now seen that people of all ages and with all types of illnesses are seeking the help of practitioners of acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine. A point called the “grandfather-grandson” point is found as the thumb slides up the bone from the inner edge of the ball of the foot to the top of the arch. This point relieves anxiety and depression because this area activates and relaxes the part of the brain that releases these “feel-good” hormones. To balance emotions, apply pressure where the arm meets the chest, called the “central treasury.” An acupuncturist can teach proper acupressure points during an acupuncture session once or twice a week. After the first 12 acupuncture sessions, the patient can switch to a maintenance schedule every two weeks or once a month. However, at-home acupressure techniques can increase the positive effects.

Why can electrical acupuncture help people combat anxiety and depression?

Electrical acupuncture has been used to help people with depression for 20 years. In 2017, Ding Luo et al. A new study published in the Medical Science Monitor. al suggests that electroacupuncture can modify the glutamatergic neurotransmission system to reduce symptoms of major depressive disorder. According to this study, electroacupuncture can be used to achieve an antidepressant effect by improving the function of the glial glutamate transporter EAAT2 in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. It takes a little longer for acupuncture to change the gene expression of the glutamate transporter EAAT2, which carries out 90% of glutamate neurotransmission. When using acupuncture to treat depression, it is better to start two to three times a week to accumulate the antidepressant effect, with more sessions required to modify gene expression.

Inspired by Li Zheng