Treating Depression with Acupuncture and Chinese Herbal Medicine
by Dr. Dennis Kinnane, OMD LAc,RPh 

In China it has long been known that acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine are safe, effective therapies for the treatment and cure of mental and emotional disorders. Chief among these are the “depressive” conditions that plague our high-powered, fast-paced Western civilizations. 

I have not only had the experience of treating depression with these alternative modalities but have personally experienced the benefits, and the eventual return to health from a state of extreme anxiety and depression which afflicted me many years ago while transitioning careers from Western pharmacist to acupuncturist and herbalist. 

Unless one has personally experienced clinical depression or alternating anxiety and depression, it is hard to understand how terrifying and disruptive these states can be. It is no exaggeration to call depression/anxiety a “living hell” from which it seems there is no respite. That it is all going on within one’s mind only makes the experience worse, since many times other family members and acquaintances are unable to fathom the degree of suffering or offer any sensible advice other than to recommend a therapist or psychiatrist. While helpful to some, often times this results in endless sessions of talk therapy and the introduction of mind altering psychotropic drugs with frequent and serious “side effects”. 

Luckily, the Chinese have been treating such disorders for centuries. Their level of experience and success is significant and addresses the root cause of the disorder rather than simply the emotional symptom. 

The Chinese approach to such emotional illness is unique inasmuch as it focuses not on the chemistry of the brain or nervous system as in the West, but on the “Qi” or function of the internal organs from whence these emotional disorders actually arise. Thus in depression, for example, the function of the liver, spleen and heart are most often the focus of the actual problem rather than any chemistry in the head. 

While Western medicine can many times help in the short term for acute episodes, so often when used chronically or in the long term the anti depressants and other psychotropic agents can actually create more and even worse problems. The Columbine killings, for example, were committed under the influence of such modern anti depressants! 

It is important to be aware that emotional disorders such as depression can be successfully treated using acupuncture and Chinese herbal medicine alone or even more successfully in conjunction with psychotherapy and other holistic modalities.