Prescription of Tranquillizers and Stimulants

The acupuncturist, the prescription of tranquillizers and stimulants to treat cases of anxiety and depression is a cause of great concern.

It is probably one of the most disturbing examples of the tendency within Western orthodox medicine to treat the symptoms rather than the cause of a problem.

There may be occasional cases where the use of anti-depressants for a limited period may help the patient to cope with an overtaxing situation without apparent harm.

On the other hand, an awareness of surveys linking extended use with ultimate addiction should make all prescribers treat any mood-altering drugs with extreme caution.

Like sleeping drugs, which are classified in the same category as the depressants or hypno-sedatives, tranquillizers and stimulants do not offer a direct cure, merely an alleviation of symptoms.

Furthermore, their effect is usually only short-term. With many mood-altering drugs, continued use brings about tolerance, and maintaining their effectiveness therefore requires increasing the dosage.

A further danger is that, unlike heroin and the other opiates - in which an increased tolerance also brings about an increased resistance to the drug's toxic effects, (i.e. a dosage that can be used by a longstanding addict with no harmful effects, would easily kill a novice) - the toxicity of hypno-sedative drugs remains consistent.

This means that if the dosage is increased in order to increase the effect of the drug, the possibility of accidental overdose is also increased.

Withdrawal from all kinds of addictive drugs can be helped by acupuncture treatment, although success will depend to a certain extent on the patient's determination and willingness to change.