Anxiety disorders are the most common psychiatric disorder and affect more than 15 million adults on a yearly basis in the United States. According to the American Psychiatric Association, women are more likely than men to be affected by an anxiety disorder.

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Mounting Evidence

There’s evidence from multiple studies that acupuncture helps certain symptoms of anxiety. Researchers are still exploring the effect of acupuncture on specific types of anxiety disorders.

  • One 2021 analysis looked at 20 studies focusing on general anxiety disorder. The analysis suggests that acupuncture therapy aimed at reducing anxiety in patients with general anxiety disorder had significant benefits.
  • A 2018 review of the results of 13 studies examining the treatment of anxiety with acupuncture found that all studies reported a decrease in anxiety. The studies also resulted in effective outcomes with fewer side effects than conventional treatment, which included medications in some studies.
  • Another study comparing acupuncture, conventional treatment and a treatment program that integrated acupuncture and talk therapy found that integrative treatment and therapeutic acupuncture significantly and clinically reduced anxiety and depression compared with conventional treatment. Moreover, about half of the patients in both the integrative acupuncture and acupuncture groups with initial depression or anxiety achieved significant improvements following treatment.

There is no one cause of anxiety disorders, and there is no one solution. Acupuncture has been shown to be effective in managing many types of anxiety.