Is Acupuncture Scary?

“Needles . . . Ack!! I am terrified of needles!
I could never get acupuncture done on me!”

As an acupuncturist, I would be a millionaire if I had a dollar for every time I heard people tell me of their deep fear of needles. People have a natural, primal fear of anything piercing their skin, because they expect that it will really hurt...

So does acupuncture merit its scary reputation?

I have to say that the much feared and dreaded acupuncture treatment is actually an incredibly pleasant and relaxing experience for most folks, and it is totally tolerable for even the most needle phobic among us.

The needles are hair thin and ever so much tinier than the much dreaded and feared hypodermic needle. They do not cut and tear at the skin like hypodermic needles that are used for injections. Instead, they gently part the skin when inserted. The insertion is also done very quickly so that the body doesn’t usually even register a sensation.

Patients are often surprised when I tell them that I already inserted the needle and tell me that they did not feel anything. When they feel anything at all, it usually feels like a gnat bite. When they come in for their first session, I can tell that they are worried that the needles will hurt, but they inevitably relax after I insert the first needle, because then they know that it is not painful.

Once all of the needles are in, they often fall asleep. People usually don’t sleep like a baby in the middle of a scary experience, so judging from this reaction, I would say that most of my patients don’t find acupuncture to be scary.

Acupuncture is so totally not painful that I often have to remind people not to move around once the needles are inserted because they tend to forget that they are there.

Acupuncture actually causes the body to release all sorts of pleasant, happy chemicals into the body called endorphins. The endorphins are natural opiates, which relieve pain and increase a person’s sense of relaxation and well being. They can give a person a “natural high” similar to the feeling we have at peak experiences in our lives. This is one of the reasons that acupuncture is so useful in the treatment of many types of addictions.

Acupuncture also encourages relaxation by loosening tight muscles. A person can leave a session feeling as if they had a good, deep massage. Many of my patients walk into their first session dreading needles and walk out of their first session feeling as relaxed and happy as a purring cat.

Dr. Farah Khan, DOM
YinEssence.com

Author Profile: Dr.Farah Khan is a New Mexico State Licensed Acupuncturist with her own private practice in Albuquerque, New Mexico. In 1999 she graduated with a Masters Degree in Oriental Medicine from the International Institute of Chinese Medicine where she subsequently served as professor and supervised the student clinic for two years. After moving to Saratoga Springs, Dr. Farah contracted Lyme Disease. From personal experience she learned how to use Chinese herbs and aromatherapy in her personal healing process. Now having returned to New Mexico, she has recovered and wants to help other people overcome this illness with the two systems she discovered of greatest benefit to healing Lyme Disease.

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