Now for the good news: Acupuncture and Chinese medicine have effectively treated anxiety for centuries due to its ability to individualize treatment and address the “Shen” (the Chinese word for “spirit”), which is a large part of the puzzle Western medicine often misses. In Chinese medicine, anxiety can be due to a number of different factors, like blood deficiency (think dizziness and anemia), stagnation in your liver or blood (think about when you’re so angry you could cry), or a deficiency in the chi of your heart (think heart palpitations, nothing serious but still ruins your day)—just to name a few. Whatever the pathology, an experienced traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) practitioner is able to diagnose your condition using a combination of different skills, then work on rebalancing what is out of whack in your body to calm your nervous system and your Shen. Kidney 27: This point is located on the lower border of the clavicle, two finger widths lateral to the middle of your chest (you can see a visual representation here). This point is meant to open and relax the chest, calm anxiety, and improve breathing. Yin Tang: This point is located between the medial ends of the eyebrows (you can see the exact spot here). Stimulating this point will calm the spirit and help reduce insomnia, anxiety, and stress. Heart 7: Located at the wrist crease, the function of this point is to reduce physical responses to emotional trauma. It can be very helpful for my patients with heart palpitations, nausea with panic, or fear. If you’re not exactly sure where to start, you can watch this video and put those points to use next time you are feeling anxious, panicky, or flustered. They’ll calm you down, settle your nervous system, and rebalance your chi until you can get to your next acupuncture appointment. Paige grew up in Vancouver, Canada and became passionate about Alternative Medicine after having several remarkable experiences with it at a young age. After High School she enrolled in Canada’s first Holistic Nutrition program at the Canadian College of Natural Nutrition and graduated a Registered Holistic Nutritionist. From there she traveled extensively through Asia where her passion blossomed into studies as she began taking an interest in Ayurveda, an ancient East Indian medicine. After living in India for several months she moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico to pursue her Ayurvedic training further studying alongside the famous Dr. Vasant Lad at his Ayurvedic Institute. Following Ayurveda, Paige pursued a Psychology degree at the University of Colorado and began to assimilate what she had learned of Eastern Medicine with Western Psychology. Understanding that disease in the body is most often attributed to disharmony within the psyche/emotions, a concept called “Psychosomatic Illness”, Paige was drawn to the integrative philosophy of Traditional Chinese Medicine where everything is believed to be interconnected. After falling in love with the TCM approach to health science, she went on to complete a 4-year Masters of Science degree as well as a Doctorate in Acupuncture and Traditional Oriental Medicine from Pacific College of Health and Science.
