Can Acupuncture help my Anxiety?

Mental health disorders affect almost 50% of the adult population at some point in their lifetime at a cost of approximately $220 billion annually worldwide, $10.6 billion nationally. (Australian Bureau of Statistics, 2018 Australian Institute of Health and Welfare [AIHW], 2020). In Australia, the National Survey of Mental Health and Wellbeing (Australian Government, 2009) states that 20% of the adult population currently suffer from a mental health disorder of which 14% is related to an anxiety disorder, this equates to 1 in 7 people (AIHW, 2021). 

Anxiety disorders include, general anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), social anxiety disorder, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) (Australian Government, 2021). The manifestations of anxiety disorders are generally long term and chronic in nature with anxiety being defined as a continuous feeling of dread, fear, and imminent tragedy, or tension and uneasiness.