Signs of anxiety that may not register as anxiety include:

• Being constantly busy

• Broken or light sleep

• Chronic muscle tightness

• Constipation

• Changes in weight or appetite

• Fatigue and burnout

• Brain fog

• TMJ

• IBS or bloating

• Increased food sensitivities

• General stress

• Panic attacks

If your body feels like it is always bracing for the next thing, there is a reason. And it is not because you are doing something wrong.

Acupuncture treatment helps to address the autonomic nervous system, the part of our peripheral nervous system that we can’t consciously control. The autonomic nervous system controls both the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system response.

If you’ve heard people talk about being stuck in a stress response or in fight or flight, they are referring to a chronic sympathetic nervous system response.

This can happen for a variety of reasons ranging from traumatic experiences, chronic illness, living in poverty, and surviving abuse to long term work pressure, poor sleep, poor diet, and excessive use of stimulants like caffeine.

It is natural and normal for our nervous system to move between the sympathetic and parasympathetic states, but when our body becomes stuck in a chronic stress response we can experience symptoms like chronic anxiety and panic attacks, muscle tension, TMJ, migraines, IBS, bloating, increased food sensitivities, fatigue and burnout, insomnia, and brain fog.

When your nervous system is stuck in a protective state, your body allocates energy toward survival instead of repair.

This is why stress can show up as pain, digestive issues, sleep problems, muscle tension, headaches, fatigue, and a feeling that you cannot fully settle.

The body is not failing you. It is trying to protect you. But there comes a time when that protection no longer serves you. Real talk: your body is not overreacting. It has just learned to stay in a state of protection.

Acupuncture treatment supports the body’s natural ability to handle stress and move back into the parasympathetic state after sympathetic nervous system activation.

This is crucial for healing because it is in the parasympathetic state that the body allocates resources towards healing and repair.

What Acupuncture Does in the Body

• Stimulates the vagus nerve

• Shifts the autonomic nervous system into the parasympathetic state

• Decreases heart rate and blood pressure

• Directs resources toward organ and tissue repair

• Supports cellular repair and metabolism

• Supports nutrient absorption

• Improves vagal tone over time

• Reduces inflammation

• Improves emotional regulation

Why This Matters for Anxiety and Stress

Many patients say that during acupuncture treatment they go into a state somewhere between sleep and wakefulness, experience a pleasant feeling of relaxation and heaviness in their body, or fall asleep completely.

This is because acupuncture treatment stimulates the vagus nerve and shifts the autonomic nervous system into the parasympathetic state, which we often call the “rest, digest, and heal” state.

In the parasympathetic state, our heart rate and blood pressure decrease and the body’s available resources are directed towards organ and tissue repair, cellular repair and metabolism, and nutrient absorption.

This shift is essential for repair and healing so that when we inevitably shift back into the sympathetic state, our cells and tissues have recovered and can respond with renewed resources.

Over time, acupuncture treatment improves vagal tone which benefits heart health, decreases blood pressure and heart rate, enhances mental clarity, reduces inflammation, and improves our ability to regulate our emotional response.

It is in this way that consistent, long term acupuncture treatments can help us to live longer, happier lives, improving not only our health but our relationship to ourselves and the people around us.

We approach anxiety and stress by supporting the systems that regulate your body’s response to the world. We are not here to tell you to calm down. We are here to help your body remember how.

At BPH, we support anxiety and stress by:

• Regulating the nervous system through acupuncture

• Supporting the shift from fight-or-flight into rest, digest, and heal

• Addressing physical symptoms like muscle tension, TMJ, digestive disruption, fatigue, and insomnia

• Using trauma-informed care and a delicate hand

• Providing resources and support between appointments

• Helping patients build a more regulated baseline over time

Our goal is not just to help you feel calm on the table. Our goal is to help your body become more resilient outside of the treatment room. This is how we help you feel better—and stay better.

When dealing with the effects of chronic stress and worry in the body, the experience in treatment can vary. There will reach a point where during the treatment you will become relaxed, and potentially fall asleep.

However, if you do not relax during the first couple of sessions, that is also normal. Our practitioners have a variety of resources for you. Think of this as working out a new muscle or a new way of moving.

Every treatment is custom and personalized. In your first treatment, we have a full health history, review imaging, review new patient paperwork and do any relevant testing. You will also receive a full treatment at that appointment.

After intake, we do a thorough explanation of “how acupuncture feels,” and then the treatment is administered. Even people that are nervous about the session are able to make it through, and feel relief after only a couple of treatments.

Because acupuncture works with your nervous system, we are able to create a sense of peace and restfulness while on the table. Most patients will be given homework and resources to help with their condition in between appointments.

When first starting out, new patients should expect to come 3-5 times, once per week, to create lasting change.

This isn’t magic, and it takes time to reorganize and fix a problem. No matter what, our goal is long term relief, and your practitioner will have a plan to continue your progress even after symptoms have subsided.

The Portal / Breathwork and Mindfulness

For an even deeper dive into this, watch Toni Haugen’s workshop on Breathwork and Mindfulness here on The Portal.

Acupuncture for Pain Relief

Stress, anxiety, and physical discomfort not only occur in the body simultaneously, but can create a cycle that keeps people feeling unwell.

Acupuncture for Migraines and Headaches

Chronic stress can contribute to muscle tension, TMJ, migraines, and headaches.