Acupuncture Effective for Treatment of Depression and Substance Abuse

By Leslie Davis

Treatment for drug and alcohol abuse and depression traditionally involves individual and group therapy, 12-Step meetings and any necessary medications. But many non-traditional methods may also be effective, such as acupuncture, which is widely used to help people recover from their addictions and mood disorders.

Acupuncture is a form of Chinese medicine that was introduced to the United States in the 1970s. By inserting needles into certain points on the body (acupoints), acupuncturists work to stimulate your body’s vital energy (Qi).

Prolonged substance abuse and depression can block the energy in your body, causing it to not function properly and creating more health problems. With acupuncture, you can more quickly detox from alcohol and drug addiction and enhance your mood by freeing the energy to move through your body.

How Does Acupuncture Work?

Acupuncture normally involves the insertion of needles near the surface of the skin to stimulate energy in the targeted meridians. If you are especially sensitive to the idea of being poked with needles, acupuncturists can instead use magnets to stimulate the meridians.

Each session of acupuncture lasts about 45 minutes, with the needles inserted for 20 minutes. The level of pain experienced from the needles, if any, depends on the sensitivity of each person.

“There can be some discomfort right when the needle goes in,” said Dale Carlson, a licensed acupuncturist at Sierra Tucson residential addiction treatment center in Arizona. “It can’t be avoided because the nerve endings are right there, but it should go away immediately.”

If it doesn’t, Carlson, who has been an acupuncturist since 1999, recommends letting your acupuncturist know. “We don’t want discomfort to distract from treatment,” he said.

The effects of acupuncture also depend on the person. Some will feel relief immediately, and others will see results a few days after treatment. “We don’t always know exactly what’s going to happen when we work with the body’s subtle energies,” Carlson said.

Treating Drug Addiction and Alcoholism

When it comes to treating drug and alcohol addiction, acupuncture can reduce withdrawal symptoms, decrease cravings for drugs and alcohol, target symptoms of depression and help with relaxation.

“Acupuncture helps the detoxification process by increasing the metabolism of the liver to speed toxins through the system,” Carlson said.

Acupuncture targets meridians on your body based on the disorder you are experiencing. For drug addiction and alcoholism, treatment is focused on the liver, though the entire body may be treated.

A damaged liver is a common side effect of substance abuse. “The liver is often stressed, which doesn’t mean a person has liver disease,” Carlson said. “It may just mean the liver isn’t processing energy the way it should.” Acupuncture can open the liver energy to get it properly functioning, which can also help alleviate any symptoms of depression caused by your addiction.

The liver meridian runs through your entire body. Treatment of this meridian most often involves acupoints on the foot since this is where the liver meridian begins, according to Carlson. Opening the liver energy often means inserting a needle in each foot and each hand. This combination of points is called the four gates.

Auricular acupuncture (acupuncture in the ears) is very helpful for detox, and the ear is a common part of the body to treat when using acupuncture for drug addiction and alcohol treatment. In Chinese medicine, the ear is considered a micro system of the body, and many disorders and symptoms can be targeted through points in each ear. These points can relieve cravings and anxiety, and help the liver flush toxins from the body.

Because the ear is such a vital component of treatment, Carlson said he sometimes tapes seeds to the pressure points so that patients can have continuing treatment for 4 to 5 days. The seeds are from a Chinese herb that is believed to help move energy and blood through the body.

Treating Depression

Treating a mood disorder like depression can effectively be done through a mind/body treatment like acupuncture. “Instead of just talking about mind/body medicine, we have a way to link mind and body through emotions,” Carlson said. Acupuncture can also alleviate any worry, fear, grief and sorrow associated with depression.

For depression, treatment focuses on the following areas:

Digestive system, which is affected by worry.
Liver, which is the “organ of frustration, anger and depression,” according to Carlson.
Kidney, because blocked kidney energy tends to decrease energy levels and increase fear.
Lungs, which are affected by grief and sorrow.
Heart, which is considered the emperor organ in Chinese medicine. “It is the master organ affected by all emotions,” Carlson said.

Acupuncture at Residential Treatment Centers

Acupuncture is not effective on its own for the treatment of drug addiction, alcoholism or depression, and is best used when combined with other treatments. Sierra Tucson uses a holistic approach to treatment so that acupuncture is effectively combined with Western medication, therapy and many other modalities.

Sierra Tucson has a dedicated Department of Integrated Therapies that oversees the use of such treatments as acupuncture, yoga, massage, Zero Balancing and Qi Gong in conjunction with more traditional therapeutic treatments.

“We always look at the body as a whole,” Carlson said. “Our primary objective is to balance the body, and all the therapies at Sierra Tucson work together to do that.”