Everyone can experience periods of sadness or low mood. Depression is more than feeling unhappy for a few days. It can involve persistent low mood or a loss of interest and enjoyment that lasts for weeks or months and affects everyday life.
Depression can affect people differently. Symptoms may include hopelessness, low self-esteem, difficulty concentrating, disrupted sleep, changes in appetite, tiredness, low energy and physical aches or pains. Depression can range from less severe to more severe and may occur alongside anxiety or physical-health concerns.
Depression is a genuine mental-health condition. A GP or qualified mental-health professional can assess symptoms, discuss established treatments and provide appropriate support.
There is a well recognised connection between emotional and physical health. Depression may affect sleep, energy, appetite, motivation, relationships, work and the ability to manage everyday activities.
During treatment, Jamie considers how low mood or depression affects you personally and how it interacts with your wider health. The assessment may include sleep, energy, digestion, physical symptoms, stress, medication and any psychological or medical support you are receiving.
Acupuncture should only form part of wider care. It does not provide a mental-health diagnosis and should not replace assessment, psychological therapy, prescribed medication or specialist support.
Bereavement can bring a complex range of feelings, including sadness, anger, guilt, numbness and exhaustion. Grief is not automatically depression, although bereavement can sometimes contribute to depression or make existing mental-health difficulties worse.
Jamie has a particular interest in supporting people experiencing bereavement. Acupuncture appointments can provide a calm space in which wider physical and emotional health are considered, but they are not a replacement for bereavement counselling, mental-health care or urgent support.
Chinese medicine uses an individual diagnosis rather than treating everyone experiencing low mood or depression in the same way. Two people with a similar diagnosis may therefore receive different acupuncture treatments according to their symptoms, health history and wider presentation.
Jamie combines more than 20 years of clinical experience with detailed pulse diagnosis to explore the individual pattern. Treatment is adapted according to the person's presentation and response, with attention to relevant concerns such as sleep, energy, tension, digestion and physical wellbeing.
The first appointment provides time to discuss what you have been experiencing and how it affects your health and daily life. Jamie will ask about low mood, sleep, energy, physical symptoms, general health, medication and any other care or support you are receiving.
The appointment includes an individual Chinese medicine assessment and, where appropriate, your first acupuncture treatment. Jamie will explain the initial approach and discuss whether acupuncture may be suitable as part of your wider care.
Do not stop or change antidepressants or other prescribed medication without speaking to the healthcare professional responsible for your care.
Depression and low mood connect most naturally with the Anxiety and Regulation Pathway. This pathway provides a structured starting point for considering emotional wellbeing alongside sleep, energy, physical tension and wider health.
The pathway is clinical guidance rather than a depression treatment programme or guarantee of improvement. Acupuncture should sit alongside appropriate GP care, psychological therapies, medication and specialist mental-health support where needed.
Pathway link: Anxiety and Regulation Pathway
The British Acupuncture Council's 2022 depression fact sheet reviews systematic reviews and clinical trials concerning acupuncture and depression. It discusses research suggesting possible benefits when acupuncture was compared with usual care, sham acupuncture or medication alone.
The fact sheet also explains important limitations. The overall evidence quality was assessed as low, many trials were conducted in China and their findings may not apply directly to UK care. Although a large UK trial reported improvements compared with usual care, it was not designed as a placebo-controlled trial.
Current NICE guidance for depression does not recommend acupuncture. NICE identifies a range of established treatments according to the severity of depression and the individual's needs and preferences, including guided self-help, psychological therapies, exercise, medication and specialist care.
The evidence should therefore not be presented as proof that acupuncture treats depression. Responses vary, and acupuncture should only be considered as an optional complementary part of wider care.
Further reading:
Speak to a GP if you think you may be depressed, particularly if symptoms are persistent, worsening or affecting everyday life. Adults can also refer themselves directly to an NHS talking therapies service without first seeing a GP.
Seek urgent mental-health help if you are having thoughts of suicide or self-harm, feel unable to keep yourself safe, or are concerned about someone else. Call 999 or go to A&E if there is immediate danger or someone has seriously harmed themselves.
For urgent mental-health support that is not an emergency, call NHS 111 and select the mental-health option. Samaritans can be contacted free at any time by calling 116 123.
Further support:
If low mood or depression is affecting your physical wellbeing or everyday life, a first appointment gives us time to understand your individual presentation and discuss whether acupuncture may be a suitable complementary part of your wider care.