Downeast Acupuncture treats all health concerns on an individual basis, allowing us to diagnose and treat a wide variety of ailments. Common health concerns that are treated successfully include but are not limited to: Womans Health and Wellness (PMS, Infertility, Pregnancy and Delivery (Pre)Menopause) Pain Management Smoking Cessation/ Addictions Mental/ Emotional disorders Migraines IBS/Crones Disease Prevention Insomnia Hypertension Diabetes Woman's Health and Wellness Most women's health concerns respond very well to the different treatment principals of eastern medicine. We look at a woman's whole body, state of mind and lifestyle to adequately treat her most delicate of concerns. Eastern philosophy is rooted in the theory of yin and yang. Yin and Yang by nature act as opposing forces, which need to be kept within a balance in order to maintain harmony. Yin and Yang are reflected in everything the universe does, from day cycling into night, the seasons changing, and even a bee landing on a flower. The body's energies, fluids, bloods, emotions, tissues and bone also need to maintain a balance of yin and yang in order to stay well. When these factors are disrupted and become unbalanced disease and illness occur. Eastern medicine allows the body to create and maintain a natural state of harmony. PMS and painful periods are usually caused by a disruption in the flow of qi. Acupuncture, Herbal Medicine and Qi Gong all help the body redirect the flow of qi and blood in the body, thus allowing healing to occur. Maintaining a healthy flow of qi and blood within the body will result in more regular, less painful periods. Pre-Menopause and Menopausal health concerns such as "hot flashes", digestion issues, and a "scattered mind" improve when a woman incorporates acupuncture into a healthy lifestyle. Nutrition is also essential for maintaining a balanced state of health and your acupuncturist will go over proper nutrition guidelines to help maintain wellness. Problems resulting in infertility also respond well to Oriental Medicine. In these cases the practitioner works one on one with the patient to regulate a healthy menstrual cycle. Once this is achieved, several ideas are incorporated into a woman's lifestyle to help with conception. We use specific foods targeted toward certain body types, breathing exercises (including Qi Gong), and acupuncture. Another theory applied, when working to increase conception factors, is called the Cosmo-Biological theory. A Czechoslovakian doctor, Eugene Jonas, developed this theory in the 1950s. He studied Babylonian writings, which read: "woman is most fertile at time of her moon." Your practitioner will also calculate your different moon phases and apply this theory toward increasing the chances of conception. Once a woman has become pregnant, acupuncture is a safe, alternative to treating problems associated with carrying a little one. With the use of acupuncture and nutritional guidelines, a number of associated symptoms can also treated, including: Pain, Headaches/Migraines, Hemorrhoids, Heartburn, Braxton Hicks, and many others. Acupuncture can also be used as a safe and effective way to help induce labor, alleviate pain, and minimize recovery time. We enjoy working with midwives and being a part of the natural birthing process. Smoking Cessation/Addictions Recovery Our smoking cessation program is a series of 5 treatments, which occur during the course of one-week, focusing and targeting the addiction. The treatments last roughly 45min. and have very excellent success rates. In Oriental Medicine, the many forms of addictions are looked at in a similar manner, yet in understanding that each of us, each body is unique, treatments are designed to fit each patient individually. Addiction to alcohol and drugs (illegal and over the counter medications), as well as disordered eating, each experience more successfully results when Oriental medical modalities are incorporated into the detoxification process. Mental Emotional Disorders When one looks back, historically, on the development of Eastern thought with regards to health and healing; it becomes increasingly clear that it is not sufficient to treat the physical aspects of disease alone. One must look toward the person's environment, their physical health and their emotional health. Emotions play a large part in the progression of disease, as well as in the treatment of illness. Classically it was understood that a person might divide their emotional responses to environmental stimuli into seven categories. These were known as the Seven Affects: joy, anger, anxiety, thought, sorrow, fear and fright. Each of these states of being has a great impact on our perceptions of illness and healing. In a constant equilibrium, these emotions are felt freely, each contributing to our understanding of our self with the world around us. If any of these emotional responses should be excessively intense, a situation of disharmony occurs. This "out-of -balance" situation leads to prolonged intense emotions, which further widens the gap between equilibrium and disharmony. In our own busy, hectic lives, we are often unaware of the minute emotional changes that begin to cascade into more chaotic situations of stress, anger, emotional fatigue, constant worry, and depression. The process of healing can begin when the relationship between the person and the affect, or emotion is fully understood.