Kick The Smoking Habit With Acupuncture
Acupuncture has been widely used to treat pain and enable healing processes and flow of "positive" energy through the body. Drugs and tobacco addiction works through a set of chemical and physiological processes that lead to a feeling of high. The same pathways are involved in pain relief and treatment of depression. Although conventional drugs work through triggering of impulses through the nervous system, addiction treatment with acupuncture has shown that the body also has other mechanisms to react to stimuli.
Smoking is a combination of the addiction exerted by nicotine and the stimulus initiated by the smoke inhaled and the cigarette in the mouth. Since smoking is not a crime in general, when compared to other narcotic substances, it becomes much more difficult to quit. The effects experienced by smokers who try to quit can vary from mild to severe forms. Withdrawal effects like anxiety, irritability, poor concentration, loss of sleep, variations in appetite, and fatigue. There is an inbuilt craving sensation that is not restricted to the nervous system, but also related to the digestive and psychological aspects as well.
In the early 1980's scientists developed an acupuncture method for treatment of addiction by focusing especially on the ear. The explanation given was that the body has in-built chemicals, enkephalins and endorphins that are released to overcome the sensation of pain. The chemicals help the body in blocking the sensation of pleasure induced by nicotine. Repeated addiction treatment leads to a failure achieve a high due to the blocking effect. The prick of the needle is thought to induce the release of such compounds and lead to reduction in anxiety and pain.
Acupuncture has evolved as an alternative therapy when others fail to achieve the goal. Doctors who strongly support acupuncture methods have reported 90 percent cure rates within a few weeks of daily addiction treatment. The aversion to smoking was manifested as changed taste perception, nausea, and "hot" feelings due to smoking. A combination of points in the ear and other parts of the body may also be used to create the desired effect.
Every patient is unique and requires customized addiction treatment. While certain meridian points are effective in curbing the sensation for a "high", others are critical or suppressing the pain and irritable responses that are observed during abstinences. Acupuncture is also a more radical approach compared to nicotine patches and chewing gums. People have failed to understand that a replacement therapy will only instigate a regularized and more open form of addiction. The aim of all addiction treatment methods should have been to totally stop the intake of nicotine.
There are methods that are alternative to piercing needles. When these are inserted, they stimulate release of endorphins, which calm and relax the body through appropriate signals. Ear acupuncture is considered to be safe even for people with health conditions like diabetes, high blood pressure, etc. Apart from regular use of acupuncture to treat ailments, it's a brilliant addiction treatment. It may not be the most traditional addiction treatment approach but there's been plenty of positive reviews regarding acupuncture addiction treatment.