Acupuncture for the SAD

I received an acupuncture treatment for the first time today, which is indeed when they stick needles in you. I’ve heard good things about it – granted, it’s been in my office from clients and coworkers – but I’ve been hesitant because of the needles. However, when a person needs to be healed and it comes to you at a discounted price, what can you say but, “why not?”

For the past few weeks, I’d been struggling with work and my life (again). Kind of randomly, I became suddenly disinterested in dancing and felt a confused, loss of purpose. On days when my partner had another commitment and couldn’t practice, I didn’t mind. In fact, all I wanted to do was sit at home. My room had gotten messier and I neglected doing my dishes. I simply didn’t have energy to clean up after myself. I also started losing focus at work and making mistakes I shouldn’t have been making. The other day, in fact, I sat at the desk and felt as though I had been drugged – slightly tired and unable to think about one thing for very long. It was challenging to do some of my routine tasks without making a concentrated effort to focus on them. Then back at home, the progression of this thing was continuing to disturb me. My behavior left me very confused and sad and I didn’t want to do anything – no yoga, no writing. I just wanted to become a hermit and read. I haven’t been sleeping well, either. I even started fasting for a few days and received a small thrill in doing so…seeing how far I could push myself to go without eating. Clearly, something was not right.

Then I had heard a coworker say a week ago, “I’m a very decisive person…so when I can’t make a decision, I know I need acupuncture.” It didn’t occur to me that someone might go to acupuncture for something like that, but since my mind felt cloudy too, I decided to try it.

Intake Interview

There are several types of acupuncture and the practitioner I saw – Margaret – was trained in 5 Element. It’s a system that takes the whole person into consideration when doing an intake – family history, personal history and behavioral tendencies (relationships, sleeping & eating patterns, social life), and physical concerns. This is opposed to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) acupuncture. TCM is a bit more symptomatic from my understanding and resembles our western ideas of medicine: it focuses mainly on the physical. Five Element is more like mental and physical therapy…a counseling session with body/needle work. When I was talking to Margaret about my life, for instance, I began to see patterns in my behavior. After reviewing my experience in college, the move back home, and then moving to Tucson, I realized – again – that I had become depressed every year at the beginning of fall. I forget about this every year, because I always get better. However, even in warm, sunny Arizona, the seasons still affect me. I remembered then that I have seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.). I’ve never been officially diagnosed, but I think five consistent years of experience is enough evidence.

The Needle Treatment

It went better than expected. Margaret only inserted needles into my back, which was nice because I didn’t have to watch. I only felt a tiny prick a couple of times – so much better than shot – and there was only one needle that annoyed me for the whole treatment. It didn’t hurt, but I could feel it. We chatted as she inserted them and then let me lay on the cushy table for 10-15 minutes. I’ve heard that acupuncture puts you in a blissful state, but this was not my experience. I felt a sensation of drowsiness right when she inserted the first needle, but then I went back to my normal alertness a few moments later. That one darn needle also didn’t allow me to relax, unfortunately. After all was finished - the needles were out and I was fully clothed again - I did feel a little woozy. They warned me not to exercise or drive a car afterward and to drink plenty of water (to flush out the toxins – this was a detox treatment). So I made plans to bus home and stay in, which of course didn’t bother me. I also ate a good lunch J.

The best thing about my treatment was the relief from knowing that something was the matter with me – something out of my control - and that it could be managed. Honestly, when you start doing things that feel just slightly off, you can’t tell if it’s part of your personality, if you’re just being lazy, or if something truly is wrong. It’s disturbing and frustrating. The lesson here is, if you think something is wrong, it probably is. Even if whatever you’re facing is all a mental perspective, if it’s bothering you, you should talk to someone about it and investigate it. The answer may be as simple as talking to someone to relieve pressure you feel at work or within your household. But if you don’t do anything, the mind can start to shut down or function in a funny way in order to deal with the long-term stress.

I don’t know if the body work will actually do anything, but I made another appointment to go back. We’ll find out within a few weeks if I feel a difference for sure. If I don’t remember to post about it, let me know ;).