As final exams approach, students may turn to needles to relieve stress.

Traditional Eastern and Chinese holistic remedies for well being are increasing in popularity and acceptance. Acupuncture and acupressure have been demonstrated in studies to reduce anxiety and increase the ability to deal with stress, according to the American College of Traditional Chinese Medicine, a nonprofit institution. Acupuncture involves strategically placed needles, often on the arms, legs, abdomen, and face, which correspond to various internal organs. The treatment typically lasts 30 minutes, while the patient sits under a heated lamp. Depending on the particular case, the practitioner may stimulate the needles manually or with a heat source.

“The treatment is holistic, meaning it treats the whole person,” said Adam Burke, a licensed acupuncturist and holistic health professor who teaches a course on Eastern perspectives in medicine.

“They’re looking at humans in context, including diet, exercise, mental wellbeing, and then prescribing specific herbs and acupuncture points.”

According to the Centers for Disease Control, stress is a factor in 80 percent of all diseases, and the cause of 60-90 percent of all medical visits.

Maggie Hackett undergoes weekly acupuncture treatments at the College to alleviate a digestive ailment, and balance her energy, or chi, as acupuncturists call it.

“The stress I feel is not desperate or frantic, but it manifests itself in the physical symptoms I have,” said Hackett, 28, a student at the ACTCM.

Treating stress and “over-thinking” is usually accomplished by stimulating the points on the body that will balance the energy of the liver, as well as strengthen the patient’s energy, according to Anita Huang, acupuncturist and administrator at ACTCM.

Practitioners also perform a procedure called cupping, whereby one or more heated glass bulbs form a vacuum on the skin, drawing out toxins from the body.

Moxibustion is another technique used in conjunction with needling. The herb mugwort is slowly burned and waved near the needles to stimulate the needles with heat. According to Huang, the mugwort aroma is also helpful in treating diarrhea.

“All of my life I tried different Western treatments, and at 21, a friend told me about acupuncture, then I got relief for the first time,” said Hackett.

Other students have utilized the skill of meditation.

Last semester, health major, Faye Wharton, 24, was overwhelmed by the pressure from school and a demanding job.

“My health was suffering from the stress,” she said. “I just wanted to be done with the semester, work, commuting, and stress, but it didn’t seem like it would ever stop.”

Wharton said she was eventually able to calm her mind with the meditation and imagery techniques she learned in a relaxation class, which was part of the holistic health curriculum.

“I lay on my back, closed my eyes and rested my hands on my stomach to feel my breathing,” she said.

“After feeling a breath of fresh air from meditation, I came back and went on with the rest of my day feeling refreshed and capable of finishing all of my responsibilities,” she said.

According to ACTCM, Chinese acupuncture and massage have been shown to alleviate stress by increasing circulation and triggering the release of endorphins, which act as natural painkillers.

Even as a proponent of Eastern medicine, Burke cautions those who may take a one-sided approach to treatment.

“Just because the treatment is Eastern, it is not necessarily better for you,” he said, referring to certain herbal remedies that may or may not be appropriate for specific ailments.

Furthermore, Huang advises that Eastern medicine is not a substitute for annual check-ups, blood tests, or emergency care.

Whether the patient receives acupuncture, herbs, massage, or other methods of treatment always depends on the individual needs of patient, as determined by a pre-treatment interview, Huang said.