Are you mildly or severely depressed? If you are, it may be good news for you to learn that acupuncture can be an effective remedy for depression.

Based on numerous clinical studies, acupuncture is a very good treatment for depression. Most people are aware that acupuncture involves the insertion of needles to promote healing. Actually, there is an acupuncture technique that does not require the use of needles at all; more on that later.

The most common Western conventional treatment for depression is drugs. They work for a lot of people suffering from anxiety and depression. Other people however, want a more natural approach to their emotional condition due to the fact that pharmaceutical medications introduce toxic elements into the body causing a lot of adverse side effects.

A controlled study done in 1998 by the National Institute of Health showed that in the individuals (who all were suffering from depression) given acupuncture treatment, about 44% experienced a significant improvement of their depression symptoms. This was 22% greater than the results of the control group. This study suggests that acupuncture can produce a positive effect in the reduction of the symptoms of depression.

Practitioners and followers of acupuncture believe in the existence of an internal life energy the Chinese call qi or chi flowing throughout the body along vessels of energy known as meridians. Illnesses develop when these meridians become obstructed. It is the job of the acupuncturist to clear the obstruction or re-channel the flow of energy to other meridians in order to reestablish the normal flow of energy. When qi flows freely once more, the symptoms of the illness dissipate. Acupuncture follows this principle in treating most heath conditions, including depression.

For depressed people who are interested in receiving acupuncture treatment but are fearful of needles, there is a type of treatment that applies pressure to the acupuncture points using the hands and fingers. This treatment is known as acupuncture and is a much less invasive procedure than the traditional treatment. Both acupressure and acupuncture treatments are equally effective in addressing depression. Acupressure merely involves the correct application of manual pressure on specific acupoints to treat a condition. This procedure has a lot of advantages one of which is that you can do it on yourself.

For best results, you can combine acupuncture or acupressure treatment with your ongoing conventional therapy.