Therapies: Traditionals & Alternative
Traditional mental health treatments like medications and talk therapy effectively manage conditions for many people. However, alternative therapies can complement traditional care to provide more complete relief. Integrating approaches can also allow you to reduce medication dosages over time. Let’s examine how alternative and traditional therapies work well together.
Acupuncture and Medication
For instance, acupuncture alongside antidepressants reduces symptoms more than either treatment alone for some individuals. Similarly, acupuncture combined with anti-anxiety medications gives added benefits.
Essentially,acupuncture needles stimulate neural pathways that influence mood-regulating neurotransmitters in the brain.This enhances the effects of medications that target the same neurotransmitter systems.
Acupuncture additionally helps manage side effects from some psychiatric drugs like fatigue, sexual dysfunction and appetite changes. Consequently, supplements like acupuncture can help you utilize the lowest effective medication dosages to minimize adverse reactions.
Massage Therapy and CBT
Moreover, massage therapy strengthens the effects of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT). Massage lowers physiological stress indicators like blood pressure and muscle tension before CBTsessions.
This gives therapists a baseline reading of patients’ wellbeing and helps patients enter sessions in a calm, receptive state. Relaxed patients can then better focus on and benefit from cognitive exercises during CBT.
In turn, CBT skills help individuals manage stress and negative thoughts that cause body tension. Together, massage and CBT target both the mind and body for holistic mental health improvement.
Yoga and Medication
Furthermore, yoga as an adjunct to antidepressants yields greater reductions in depression severity compared to either treatment alone. Yoga postures improve serotonin and dopamine function to enhance antidepressant response.
The hormonal changes, physical exercise and mindfulness from yoga also help relieve medication side effects and promote treatment adherence. As a result, yoga can be a valuable supplement for patients utilizing antidepressants long term.
In summary, integrating alternative therapies like acupuncture, massage and yoga with traditional treatments empowers you to manage mental health conditions from multiple angles. Combining mind-body approaches can maximize symptom relief while allowing you to reduce harmful medication impacts over time. Talk to your doctor about how adding alternative modalities may complement and strengthen your current treatment plan.
