Go Poke Yourself!

Ironically enough, it’s generally the ones who hurt the most emotionally that are most open to experiencing physical pain. When you feel dead inside, how bad can a pin prick really hurt, right? That might help explain why new research from Australia shows that severely depressed people who were treated with traditional Chinese needle therapy, or acupuncture, showed improvement after two months. Men especially benefited from what is still considered a controversial treatment method by many experts.

Researchers were excited to see that the 40 people participating in the study cut their depression score in half in just eight weeks with the acupuncture treatment. All of the participants also were taking a standard antidepressant such as Prozac, Zoloft or Aropax, in combination with the acupuncture.

As usual, Western experts remain skeptical of acupuncture’s health benefits, especially as a depression treatment. Here in the states, most experts say a good old-fashioned combination of counseling, medication, and exercise is the way to alleviate depression.  

Why does it matter what the treatment is, as long as it’s not harming anyone and it yields positive results? What do you think about using acupuncture and other alternative medical practices to treat depression? [Stuff.co.nz]