Magic Point Monday
Magic Point Monday
Pericardium 6 has to be one of my all-time favorite points to use in the clinic. People suffering from chronic anxiety or panic attacks respond incredibly well to acupuncture, and this point definitely provides "Aha, this works wonders" moments.
The pericardium encases and protects the heart. No, not just figuratively, but literally in Western Medicine; it's the connective tissue that anchors and keeps the heart in place. The pericardium is our emotional protector to keep us from becoming overwhelmed by emotional and sensory overload. An interesting tidbit is that Chinese Medicine doctors back in the 60s and 70s using acupuncture anesthesia for open heart surgeries and other operations chose Pericardium 6 as the point of choice. Pericardium 6 could literally numb the pain of the surgery if stimulated strongly enough, which shows how powerful this point can be on the body.
If you suffer from chronic anxiety or panic attacks, you know the symptoms too well. Your palms start to get sweaty. Your heart starts racing and palpitating. Your breathing starts to become shallow and rapid. Your vision becomes tunneled. You become dizzy. You begin to feel restless and unable to sit still. You get that nauseated feeling in your stomach, making it incredibly hard to eat. Just typing that makes me feel anxious.
Pericardium 6 goes to the chest, which allows the chest to open, enabling your breathing to become calmer and deeper and stop the racing and palpitating heart. It can help with dizziness, vomiting, and nausea. Remember how I discussed how the pericardium protects the heart from becoming emotionally overloaded? Well, this point will help calm the mind and the racing thoughts that come with anxiety and panic attacks.
Feeling anxious? Next time try stimulating this point with your finger or thumb by gently massaging it until you get that "hurt so good" feeling. Finding that middle ground between gentle, soft pressure and outright pain is important. Maintain that pressure for 30 seconds up to 3 minutes, and focus on breathing. Pericardium 6 is located on both your left and right wrist, so make sure you stimulate both sides. If you or someone you know suffers from anxiety or panic attacks, let them know acupuncture can work wonders!
