Teenagers and Acupuncture: Injury to Depression to Wellness
You do not have to be physically mature to benefit from acupuncture. Teenagers respond very well to acupuncture’s healing effects—and it can set them on a lifelong path to wellness.
At Peninsula Acupuncture, the best alternative health care providers in the Mountain View, Los Altos, and Sunnyvale, CA, area, we often see teenagers whose parents have brought them in with sports injuries. We work with them to treat strained muscles or tendons, but we also recognize that these issues can go deeper than tissue.
Physical and mental healing in combination
Adults use a variety of strategies to keep their stress in check, and teenagers are no different. However, it’s not always a conscious act. Teenagers know they feel better after basketball practice, but they may attribute it to having fun and making progress, rather than endorphin release.
Think about it this way: Maybe they’ve played soccer (for example) ever since they were children, and being injured is the first time they don’t have the release that comes from running around on a field, body and mind working together. Losing that source of stress relief can sometimes uncover previously suppressed mental issues, like anxiety or depression.
As an adult, you understand how anxiety and depression can affect every aspect of life. Teenagers may experience a lack of motivation toward their schoolwork or decreased interest in their social life. And these mental health issues may be compounded by the hormone imbalances that many teenagers experience.
Acupuncture can be structured to work on more than one level. While we treat the physical symptoms, we can also calm anxieties and lift depression. The very act of getting acupuncture is a relaxing experience, one that can help teenagers reset and plunge back into their activities anew.
Working with teens to address these issues now sets them up to recognize and correct both physical and mental ailments as they grow, ultimately leading to a life of greater clarity and ease.
