International Studies Show Acupuncture as
Effective as Drugs for Depression and Anxiety
Two studies, one Chinese and one American, have both shown
that patients with mental depression who are treated with
acupuncture improve as much as those with a similar diagnosis
who take standard psychiatric drugs.
The American study, which was funded by the United States
Office of Alternative Health, focused on the treatment of
33 seriously depressed women, who were divided into three
groups, each of which was given a different treatment protocol.
Of those women who received acupuncture for their depression,
over half experienced complete remission.
The Chinese study, published in The Journal of Traditional
Chinese Medicine, was conducted in 1994 by researchers at
the Beijing Medical University and the China Academy of Traditional
Medicine. In addition to relief from depression, this study
demonstrated that those treated by acupuncture also enjoyed
significant relief from many of the physical signs associated
with anxiety – such as digestive upset, and increases
in heart rate and blood pressure. These improvements were
considerably greater than those noted in the group taking
standard anti-depressant medications.
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