Acupuncture for Simplicity
Editor’s note: A version of this article originally was written for RowdyKittens, a blog about social change through simple living
We’ve arrived at a point of tension. Technology has enabled possibilities that just 10 years ago seemed unthinkable. And yet these same advancements have deprived us of some of our most basic abilities, instincts and pleasures. This conflict has spurred an ongoing and at-times-heated debate that’s being played out everywhere from the publishing industry to the classroom to the boardroom. However, one area where the topic is being discussed much less than it should be is in healthcare.
Medicine—particularly in the West, but growingly, around the world—has become dominated by an obsession with technology. MRIs, CT scans, and lab tests are ordered before laying a hand on the patient; antibiotics and antidepressants are recommended as easily as cough drops. Up against insurance billing requirements and overcrowded hospitals, physicians often are forced to favor quick fixes over sound medical decisions. This excessive reliance on technology in medicine has caused patients to disconnect from the process of staying healthy.
The need is greater now than ever for therapies that derail this trend by encouraging us to consciously participate in our health outcomes. Acupuncture is one such therapy.
Acupuncture is premised on the idea that human beings are comprised of interdependent structures and functions whose condition is affected by emotional and environmental factors. This is very different from Western biomedicine, which assigns symptoms to isolated anatomical structures. The latter approach is to thank for countless life-saving feats in emergency and acute situations. But it falls drastically short in addressing the chronic conditions that perpetually drain our healthcare system’s resources and devastate people’s quality of life.
Greater adoption of acupuncture could help ease this burden considerably. Here’s how:
Acupuncture puts us back in control. Medical technologies such as pharmaceutical drugs force the body toward a particular result—usually temporary reduction of symptoms, often accompanied by side effects—which leaves little room for patient involvement. In contrast, acupuncture engages the body’s own healing mechanisms to address the underlying problem. This activates our intuitive sense about what’s going on with our health rather than relying on someone else or a machine to tell us.
Acupuncture inspires patience. Technology has birthed and bred an “I want it now” society. With some exceptions, acupuncture does not work overnight, especially for chronic conditions. It is an ongoing process that requires an investment of time and a willingness to let go of the assumption that medicine, to be effective, must provide instant gratification.
Acupuncture combats our culture of excess. The driving idea behind acupuncture is that we’re already in possession of everything we need to be well. Achieving health is not about introducing a new technology; it’s a matter of turning what’s already there into something positive. Learning to conceive of illness and treatment in this way helps prevent dependence and encourages moderation.
Acupuncture can save us money. It’s not just in theory that acupuncture helps curb excess. Widespread adoption of acupuncture could drastically reduce healthcare costs. For thousands of years, acupuncture has been keeping people healthy with nothing more than needles and cotton balls (or their earlier iterations). It’s the epitome of case studies in how achieving success is independent from investing in new technology.
Acupuncture encourages gratitude. A healthcare system that’s so heavily reliant on externally manufactured diagnostic tools and therapies sends a message that we are not enough. Thinking in terms of what we already have rather than what we need is healing in its own right. Acupuncture is inspiring in its ability to remind us of how much potential we already possess.
A popular concept today is the digital sabbatical, a deliberate detachment from the gadgets, websites and software programs that have come to rule our lives. Applied to healthcare, a digital sabbatical is a state of mind.
It requires taking a step back—from the medicine cabinet, the sensationalized research headlines, the barrage of pharmaceutical advertising, and sometimes even the doctor’s orders—long enough to ask some important questions: How do I feel? (This is not the same as, what’s my diagnosis?) How is this therapy affecting me? (This is not the same as, did my lab results change?) What would make me feel better? (This is not the same as, I need to refill my prescription.)
Acupuncture, because it demands presence and participation from its recipients, can help answer these questions. It encourages us to think more broadly about health, beyond what mainstream influences have conditioned us to believe. Ultimately, open mindedness and awareness in healthcare will take us infinitely further than the latest technology.
