Acupuncture for Anxiety
Understanding Anxiety in Chinese Medicine
In Chinese medicine, anxiety is seen as a sign that things are out of balance — not just mentally, but physically and emotionally too.
You might feel on edge, have racing thoughts, struggle to sleep, or feel tightness in your chest. These aren’t separate problems — they’re all ways the body is trying to adapt to a state of alertness that’s become constant.
Treatment begins by identifying how anxiety is showing up in your body. Are you holding your breath? Clenching your stomach? Waking in the night with your mind spinning? These patterns help guide the treatment process.
“When the relationship between the outside world and the inside world is unobstructed, there is no disease”
“When using acupuncture, attend first to the spirit.””
How Acupuncture Can Help
Acupuncture helps ease anxiety by regulating the systems most affected by it — the nervous system, the breath, and digestion. By using specific points on the body, we can help calm overactivity, settle racing thoughts, and support a more consistent sense of ease.
Treatment may include points to slow the heart rate, open the chest, calm the mind, and restore deeper breathing. It can also support digestion if anxiety is causing nausea or bloating.
Over time, acupuncture helps reduce the intensity of anxious states and strengthens your ability to stay centred, even when life feels challenging.
The Importance of Ongoing Support
Anxiety often doesn’t disappear overnight — but with regular treatment, many people find that their symptoms soften, sleep improves, and daily life feels more manageable.
Acupuncture can help bring your body out of fight-or-flight mode and into a place where healing and rest can happen. When the body feels safe again, the mind begins to settle.
What to Expect from a Session
Your first session begins with a conversation. We’ll explore what you’ve been experiencing — physically, mentally, and emotionally — and create a treatment plan that reflects your needs.
Treatments are gentle and quiet. Fine needles are placed in specific points while you rest. Most people feel calmer during the session itself, and notice the effects building over the following days.
Sessions may also include breathing suggestions or simple self-care tools to support the work we’re doing in clinic.
“Treatment doesn’t begin with a protocol. It begins with the person. With how they arrive. With where they’re able to be met”
If anxiety is affecting your quality of life, acupuncture offers a gentle, whole-person approach to feeling better. You’re welcome to book a free 20-minute consultation to ask questions and see if it feels right for you.
Get in touch or book a treatment when you’re ready.
For further reading
If you'd like to learn more about acupuncture and depression from a research perspective, the British Acupuncture Council’s fact sheet offers a useful overview. Read it here
Esaias Hobbs offers acupuncture for anxiety and emotional wellbeing in Lewes, East Sussex. Rooted in classical Chinese medicine, treatments are tailored to help you feel calmer, clearer, and more grounded.