Testimonials - DEPRESSION

June 2009

Depression is not something normally shared and I rarely discuss my personal battle with family or friends. I agreed to write this hopefully assisting others who battle serious depression.

I suffered from depressive episodes for a large part of my life. The depression cycle would last from a few weeks to as long as 6 months. As a teenage I thought about the two options for my life; the first choice ends the pain of living, the second choice revolved around learning to live with the pain. Each time I thought about the choice, I chose life because I knew depression would not last forever. As an adult, I learned to recognize the first symptoms of a depressive cycle working toward not letting the depression overtake my life.

In college, my longest episode lasted over 8 months and at the time I seriously thought about different types of therapy. In the end, I choose not to pursue therapeutic treatment for two very simple reasons. The first option I understood required taking medications masking the symptoms. I wanted a cure for my depression not a pill I would take daily to change my mood. The other standard therapy of talking to a therapist never interested me because I never understood how talking about my problems would actually cure my depression. Sure we all need to vent and share feelings but telling some stranger my personal issues and expecting some “magic” words of wisdom making the depression end seemed unrealistic. Additionally, all my depressive episodes end after a time and I knew waiting long enough this current episode would also end. After college, I experienced various bouts of depression, all eventually ending.

In the summer of 2008, I experienced another bout of depression and knowing about acupuncture decided to seek treatment focused on healing not masking symptoms. Anna treated me specifically for depression, however I did not tell the entire history of my depression, just that I battled depression in the past. This probably made treating my depression more difficult for Anna. Anna treated me twice a week for several weeks; each treatment asking how I was improving. The improvement was not overnight, there was no miraculous waking up the next day and feeling totally normal. The process was slow but steady progress with each treatment I noticed a very gradual improvement. After several treatments, Anna discussed the option of taking Chinese herbs assisting the acupuncture treatments. At the end of the treatment, Anna did not insist I take the herbs instead handed me a package of information about the herbs. I read the information and noted what the herbs did; how the herbs worked and decided to take the herbs in addition to the acupuncture. The main point of the herbs was not to mask the symptoms but assist in healing my body from the causes of depression. During the next treatment, I agreed taking the herbs on top of the acupuncture and in about 2 months, the depression ended. While this might seem like a long time to some, what I know about my battle with depression and the seriousness of the battle, 2 months was comparably short.

I have not experienced any depressive symptoms in the past 10 months. Acupuncture healed the underlying causes of my depression and not only masking my symptoms. I highly recommend Anna as an acupuncturist and acupuncture as a therapy option for depression.

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