Anxiety and Stress

Support for Anxiety & Stress in Exeter

An Individualised Approach to Anxiety and Stress

Anxiety and stress can affect both how you feel emotionally and how your body functions. You may find yourself constantly worrying, struggling to switch off, feeling overwhelmed, or experiencing physical symptoms such as tension, digestive problems, fatigue, headaches or disrupted sleep.

I work with anxiety and stress through the lens of traditional Chinese medicine, while also drawing on a modern understanding of health, physiology and the nervous system. This gives me a broader way of understanding what may be contributing to how you feel, rather than focusing on symptoms in isolation.

My approach is integrative and individual. Depending on what you're experiencing and what feels appropriate for you, treatment may include acupuncture, Chinese herbal medicine, EFT, Reiki, practical lifestyle guidance or a combination of approaches. You don't need to know which treatment you need before you come — we can work that out together.

Understanding Anxiety and Stress

Anxiety and stress can show up in many different ways, and the experience can be very different from one person to another. You may notice changes in your sleep, digestion, energy, concentration or muscle tension alongside the emotional symptoms.

You may be experiencing:

• persistent worry or overthinking

• feeling overwhelmed or unable to relax

• difficulty falling asleep or waking during the night

• fatigue or low energy

• muscle tension, particularly around the neck and shoulders

• digestive symptoms

• headaches or migraines

• irritability or emotional exhaustion

• difficulty concentrating

• feelings of fear or panic

From a Chinese medicine perspective, these symptoms are not viewed in isolation. Your treatment is informed by the wider pattern of your health — including your physical symptoms, emotional experience, sleep, digestion, energy and health history.

This means that two people experiencing anxiety or stress may receive quite different treatment. The aim is to understand what is happening for you as an individual and consider which approaches may be most appropriate.

Acupuncture for anxiety and stress

Acupuncture is one of the main ways I work with anxiety and stress. From a Chinese medicine perspective, treatment isn't based simply on the symptom of anxiety, but on the wider pattern of your health and what may be contributing to how you feel.

Acupuncture may be particularly helpful when stress and anxiety are also affecting things like sleep, digestion, energy, headaches, muscle tension or your ability to relax. Your treatment is individually tailored, with acupuncture points selected according to your symptoms, health history and overall presentation.

But acupuncture isn't the only approach I use. My practice is integrative, which means I can draw on different aspects of my training depending on what you need. This may include Chinese herbal medicine, EFT, Reiki and spiritual healing, as well as practical guidance around lifestyle and supporting your health between treatments.

This broader approach means we don't have to treat anxiety as a single symptom or assume that the same treatment will suit everyone. We can look at the different ways stress and anxiety are affecting you and consider which approaches may be most useful — whether that's acupuncture on its own, another approach, or a combination.