.png)
lyme, EBV, rheumatoid, multiple sclerosis, lupus
How can Acupuncture help auto-immune conditions if it works with the immune system? Wouldn't that make it worse??
I usually talk about what it means when something is "adaptogenic", supporting that which is deficient/under-active and suppressing that which is excess/over-active. In short, I explain that acupuncture regulates the immune system, rather than simply boosting it.
I go low tech. If they remember Lucille Ball's candy machine episode, I tell them I see autoimmune illnesses as if the immune system was Lucy. When your system gets overwhelmed in some way, your nervous system has a harder time choosing what is a threat and what isn't. So it whacks out and starts reacting to whatever is in front of it that seems threatening. Chinese medicine slows that panic button down, so over time the immune system is able to sort things appropriately.