Depression
What is Depression?
How Does Western Medicine Treat Depression?
How Chinese Medicine Views Depression?
Studies of Acupuncture for Depression.
What is Depression, (Yu Zheng)?
Depression is a mood disorder characterized by both physical and psychological symptoms that can be detrimental to one’s normal daily functioning. Depressed individuals often suffer from poor sleeping habits, crying spells, anxiety, worry, poor memory, inability to concentrate, body aches, stomach disturbances and a lack of interest in activities previously enjoyed. In extreme cases, individuals become helpless and hopeless about their lives and suicide is often consider.
How Does Western Medicine Treat Depression?
Modern medicine typically treats depression with a form of psychotherapy and/or anti-depressant drugs regardless of the specific symptoms presented by the depressed patient. In the United States, the DSM-IV, a diagnostic tool for appropriately categorizing psychological disorders, is widely used in the diagnosis and treatment for depression.
How Chinese Medicine Views Depression?
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), refers to depression as Yu Zheng syndrome. This refers to any obstruction from stagnation, stasis, accumulation and retention. In addition to having a complex pathology, Yu syndrome is characterized by numerous subjective complaints with lack of objective findings. In the narrow sense, Yu syndrome refers to a specific set of psychological symptoms, such as depression, irritability, moodiness, and anxiety. Acupuncture along with Chinese herbs, tui-na massage, and energetic exercises help to restore imbalances found in the body.
Studies of Acupuncture for Depression
Since the early nineties, studies around the globe have suggested that treating depression with acupuncture has a positive and holistic effect on depressed patients, particularly when used in combination with psychotherapy and herbal treatments.
Thirty eight subjects who participated in the study were adult women diagnosed with mild to moderate depression. They were treated with acupuncture according to the principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine, each for her own specific pattern of symptoms. They were treated twice per week for one month and once per week for a second month, for a total of twelve sessions. After completion of acupuncture treatment for depression, 70% of women experienced at least a 50% reduction of symptoms.
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