Acupuncture is what’s known as a complementary and alternative medical (CAM) therapy that involves inserting thin needles into the skin at specific points on the body to stimulate the central nervous system.
According to experts at John Hopkins Medicine, acupuncture triggers the release of chemicals into the muscles, spinal cord, and brain that activate the body’s natural healing processes, which in turn promote general physical and emotional well-being.
Many people with depression consider complementary therapies like acupuncture, per research published in March 2018 in the Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. One reason, according to an analysis published in October 2021 in Frontiers in Psychology, is that acupuncture is associated with fewer side effects than antidepressant medications. Read more in Everyday Health.