Depression is a blight on American society.  There were 8 million souls who ended their depression by committing suicide last year.  Others have opted a less radical but still harmful approach to their depression by taking addictive medications with a litany of harmful side effects.  However, these medications are meant to merely mask and suppress the symptoms of depression.  They were never intended to cure the patient of his/her depression.  The abrupt stoppage of using these drugs often makes the depression even worse and leaves the patient prone to abuse them.

Now a popular treatment for many types of pain being completely safe and highly effective, acupuncture has also proven to be an excellent treatment for depression. Acupuncture Jacksonville does more than antidepressants; it also repairs the underlying problems that engender depression.

What makes acupuncture a safe treatment is that it is a natural therapy for many types of disorders, which does not use drug medications and does not have any side effects.   Acupuncture for pain treatment or pain management has gained worldwide popularity due to its potency.  It also is now popularly known as well for its effectiveness in correcting mood disorders.

Both Western medical science and traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) believe that stress is the chief cause of depression.  According to TCM perspective, vital energy also known as chi, travels around the body through networks of passageways called meridians.  If chi delivery is blocked in the meridians due to stress, the resultant effect will be the rise of depression.  The job of the acupuncturist is to take away the blockage by removing stress out of the mind and enable chi to travel unimpeded once again.  Hence, instead of feeling low and depressed, acupuncture treatment makes the person feel relaxed, tranquil, reenergized and happy.  Typically, acupuncture treatments for depression will have a noticeable effect on the patients after 2 to 5 sessions.  Acupuncture addresses emotional extremes such depression and anxiety.  It also removes the symptoms (fatigue, sleeplessness, etc.) of these conditions.

Acupuncture treats depression by stimulating the brain to release natural painkillers such as endorphins and enkephalins to neutralize the stress in the mind and control neurotransmitters that send out pain signals from the brain.  Besides controlling pain and stress, acupuncture also improves blood circulation to the undernourished part of the body reinvigorating those parts and raising the overall energy level of the body.

If one started out with antidepressants for their depression, acupuncture can help that person cut down slowly on his/her medications until intake and dependence of them ceases completely.  Also, if the patient does not wish to end his medication intake, acupuncture can help complement it by helping the body detoxify the harmful ingredients of those drugs.