Almost everyone is carrying some level of stress, anxiety or low mood. Whether it is debilitating or just makes life less enjoyable, acupuncture is a way to feel more like yourself. It will not take the stress out of your life, but it can change how your body responds to it.
Does acupuncture help with stress and anxiety?
Acupuncture does not remove what is causing you stress. What it changes is how your body responds to it. It shifts you out of the fight, flight or freeze state and into the parasympathetic mode where the body actually rests and repairs. Most people leave a treatment calmer, sleep better that night, and find the next stressful thing lands easier.
Points in the ear do a lot of the work
Auricular (ear) points are among the most used in treating stress and anxiety, and they are part of most treatments here. They are quick to needle, easy to tolerate, and you can feel the settling effect while you are still on the table.
They are also part of the reason why so many people describe the treatment itself as the calmest hour of their week.
What acupuncture can and cannot do for mental health
Acupuncture is a great addition to how you manage stress, anxiety or low mood. It is not a treatment for clinical depression, and it is not a replacement for therapy, medication or a doctor’s care. Acupuncture helps the nervous system regulate so your moods and emotions are more stable.
Plenty of patients come here alongside therapy or medication, and Autumn will happily work as one part of a bigger picture. What she will not do is tell you to stop anything, or suggest acupuncture instead of care you already have.
If you are in crisis or thinking about harming yourself, please call or text 988, the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline in the US, or go to your nearest emergency room. Acupuncture is not the right help in that moment.
What does acupuncture help with?
People come to Key Element in Westminster for four overlapping things: everyday stress and burnout, anxiety, low mood, and the sleep problems that come with all three. They usually arrive tangled together, and treatment addresses them as one picture rather than separately.
Stress and burnout
The wired-and-tired state of running at capacity for months. A jaw that will not unclench, tense shoulders around your ears, and a brain that will not stop that leaves you feeling overwhelmed.
Anxiety
Racing thoughts, a chest that feels tight, the physical symptoms that show up before you have consciously registered you are worried.
Low mood
Flatness, low motivation, and the seasonal dip that arrives with Colorado’s shorter days. Acupuncture helps regulate those dips.
Sleep
Trouble falling asleep, waking at 3am with a brain that won’t turn off, or sleeping through the night but still waking exhausted. Sleep is usually the first thing patients notice changing.
Stress rarely stays in your head. It shows up as tight shoulders, headaches and a clenched jaw, which is why this overlaps with acupuncture for pain. It also disrupts hormones and cycles, which is where women’s health comes in.
How does acupuncture calm the nervous system?
Needling prompts the release of endorphins and influences neurotransmitters including norepinephrine and dopamine, and it stimulates the parasympathetic nervous system, the branch responsible for rest and digestion. If you have been stuck in fight, flight or freeze for months, this is the system that has not been getting a turn.
That is also why the effect is cumulative rather than one-off. A single treatment feels good for a few days; a course of them gradually resets where your baseline sits, so it takes more to tip you into the stress response and less to come back down.
What is an acu-nap?
An acu-nap is what happens to most people once the needles are in: a state that is neither properly asleep nor properly awake, where the body drops into deep rest. You lie there for 25 to 30 minutes and come out relaxed and refreshed rather than groggy. Patients tend to sleep better that night and handle the following week better.
For a lot of busy people it is the only thirty minutes in the week where nothing is being asked of them. That alone is part of why it works.
Why see Autumn for stress and anxiety in Westminster?
Autumn came to acupuncture from mental health. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Human Services with a concentration in Mental Health Counseling and worked as a social worker before earning her master’s and becoming a licensed acupuncturist, so the conversation part of the appointment is not an afterthought.
A mental health background
Training in mental health counselling and years as a social worker, which means the intake is a real conversation and nothing you say will surprise her.
One practitioner, every visit
You see Autumn every time. For anything to do with mental health, not re-explaining yourself to a new face matters more than usual.
A room built to settle you
Quiet, unhurried, and time for you. Come a few minutes early and start unwinding before the treatment has even begun.
What is a stress and anxiety treatment like?
Your first visit starts with a proper conversation, then needles go in, usually including ear points, and you rest for 25 to 30 minutes while your nervous system does the work. Most people drift into a half-asleep state and leave calmer than they arrived. Plan for about an hour for your first visit.
01
The conversation
Your first visit covers sleep, appetite, energy, what is going on in your life and how long it has been going on. Be sure to fill out your new patient paperwork ahead of time and arrive a few minutes early.
02
The acu-nap
Needles go in, including ear points, and you rest for 25 to 30 minutes. Most people drift into that half-asleep state. Wear something that can be pulled up past the elbows and knees.
03
The rest of the week
You will likely sleep well that night. Autumn may suggest Chinese herbs, supplements, or lifestyle advice to hold the effect between visits, and you will agree to a treatment plan moving forward.
How much does acupuncture for stress cost in Westminster, CO?
A first visit is $145 and includes the full intake. Follow-up treatments are $95, or $110 if cupping is part of your treatment. That is common when stress has settled into your neck and shoulders.
New patient includes full intake
$145
Follow-up treatment
$95
Acupuncture plus cupping
$110
More insurance companies cover acupuncture than used to. Key Element provides a super-bill with diagnostic codes you can submit for reimbursement. Check with your insurer before your first visit.
How many treatments will I need?
Autumn generally suggests committing to six to ten treatments to know whether acupuncture is working for you. Once or twice a week is usually suggested to start, because the effect is cumulative. Once we’ve got some momentum, the treatments will be spaced farther apart.
Once things settle, most people move to every two weeks or monthly. A lot of patients keep coming indefinitely at that spacing, not because anything is wrong but because it keeps them feeling their best.
What patients say
I have always thought of acupuncture as an uncomfortable necessity but not anymore. I look forward to treatments with Autumn. She is incredibly knowledgeable, thorough with her assessments, and effective in helping to reduce stress. I highly recommend Autumn.
Key Element patient
Stress and anxiety FAQ
Does acupuncture actually work for anxiety?
It will not remove what is causing the anxiety, but it reliably shifts the body out of the fight-or-flight state and into rest mode, and most patients report feeling calmer and sleeping better. The relaxation and stress-response side is where the evidence is strongest.
Can acupuncture replace my therapy or medication?
No. Acupuncture is an addition, not a replacement, and Autumn will never suggest you stop treatment you are already receiving. Many patients come here alongside therapy or medication, and that is exactly how it is meant to be used.
Will I feel different right away?
Most people feel noticeably calmer by the end of the first treatment and sleep better that night. The lasting change, where it takes more to tip you into stress and less to come back down, builds over a course of weekly treatments.
Does acupuncture help with sleep?
Sleep is usually the first thing patients notice changing, often after the first or second visit. That is true whether the problem is falling asleep, waking in the night, or sleeping a full night and still waking exhausted.
Is acupuncture safe?
Yes. All needles are sterile, single-use and disposed of after your treatment. Side effects are minimal, occasionally you might notice a small bruise. The important thing is that your acupuncturist is properly trained and licensed, which Autumn is.
What if I am nervous about needles?
Tell Autumn. It is very common to be nervous. Autumn is a gentle needler and will work with you till you’re comfortable. The needles are hair-thin and most of the time you will not feel them go in or will only feel a tiny poke that subsides quickly.
Where to find us in Westminster, Colorado
Key Element Acupuncture
9035 Wadsworth Pkwy, Suite 3450
Westminster, CO 80021
(720) 443-2248
autumn@keyelementacupuncture.com
Monday 11:00am to 5:00pm
Tuesday 9:00am to 1:00pm
Wednesday 1:00pm to 6:00pm
Thursday 11:00am to 4:00pm
Friday to Sunday Closed
We see patients from Westminster, Broomfield, Arvada, Thornton and the north Denver metro.
The experience behind your treatment
Give your nervous system an hour
Book online in under a minute. If you are not sure acupuncture is the right thing for what you are carrying, call and Autumn will tell you honestly.