May is Mental Health Awareness Month

Learn how acupuncture can help your whole self—brain and body—to feel well.

When is the last time you considered ways you can work on how you feel as a whole? If it’s been awhile, Mental Health Awareness Month is a good reminder to do a check on how you’re feeling not only physically, but emotionally and mentally.

In addition to treating physical conditions, acupuncture can be used in treatment for mental conditions like anxiety, depression, bipolar disorder and schizophrenia. It’s very common for people struggling with mental health to have other health conditions, like addition or chronic pain. Acupuncture can help to address your whole wellbeing. It can also be helpful if you don’t have a specific diagnosis but feel sad, have a lack of motivation, are feeling nervous and more.

Christine Grisham, a Doctor of Acupuncture and Chinese Medicine, and Certified Massage Therapist at the George Wellbeing Center highlights how acupuncture can boost mental health:

Acupuncture is part of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM)

Christine explains, “TCM considers the mind, body and spirit to be connected. It doesn’t see the body and brain as separate—we consider the whole person.”

This is why during your first visit to the George Wellbeing Center for acupuncture services, your practitioner will assess you on a physical level, talk with you and get at the factors that could be impacting your emotional and mental health.

For example, if you are looking for help with depression, your TCM assessment might include questions like “How is your digestion?” This might seem like a physically oriented question however; some studies show a link between having a healthy gut, anxiety and depression.

Acupuncture is tailored to your individual needs

Whether it’s your first time receiving an acupuncture treatment, or it’s the first time you’re coming in with a focus on mental health, your highly trained acupuncturist will take the time to talk about your experiences, your expectations, provide education and ensure that you feel comfortable.

Each person is different—and so is each acupuncture treatment. Through conversation your acupuncturist will propose a wellbeing plan. It might include a variety of elements from TCM, such as:

  • Individual and group acupuncture (multiple people receive treatment in the same room, while the acupuncturist moves from person to person) sessions
  • Massage techniques like gua sha (using skin friction to relax tissue)
  • Meditation
  • Qigong (movement meditation)
  • Diet and herbs

Christine says that people will often ask “How many acupuncture sessions until I am better?” Her response is that “It takes time for the body to heal itself. Acupuncture has a cumulative effect, especially for mental health.”

Ready to give acupuncture a try?

Free 10-minute acupuncture consultations are available, where you can ask questions and learn more about how it might help you.

A first appointment—Foundation Session—is a 90-minute meeting where a licensed acupuncturist will:

  • Gather your health history
  • Administer a TCM assessment
  • Create a personalized wellbeing plan
  • Complete your first acupuncture treatment during the Foundation Session

When you commit to your wellbeing plan, the recommended services included in it are 20% off. If a Foundation Session or services in your wellbeing plan aren’t achievable from a financial perspective, scholarships are available so that everyone can practice self-care.

To make an appointment at the George Wellbeing Center, call 612-465-0468 or book in person—find the Center on the skyway (second) level of the Dayton YMCA in downtown Minneapolis.