I hate needles

I’ve been doing acupuncture for a while now and I can tell you, this is the most common reason I hear from people that don’t want to do it. 

And, I get it. Needles suck. I hate needling myself. There’s also a reason I called my business Pin and Tonics. We don’t have quite the negative visceral response to “pin” as we do to “needle”. So many of us have such a negative history with needles that it’s a legitimate reason for not wanting to get acupuncture.

If hating needles is the main reason you don’t want to come get acupuncture, here are some things to know:

  1. Most of the time, the pins don’t hurt (sometimes they do, and that’s easily fixable)

  2. The long term benefit for most people often outweighs the temporary discomfort

  3. About 80% of my people grab a nap while they’re on the table, which speaks to how comfortable they are with pins in their body.

  4. I don’t believe in causing my patients pain in order for their body to heal. While I do do some very intense needle techniques on some of my patients, I do my best to warn you before I do them and I do my best to not make you suffer through it.

  5. The pins are integral in producing a pretty powerful endorphine/dopamine hit from the brain aiding in healing.

I also am a huge believer in communication and do my best to honor your boundaries. I don’t live in your body, so I rely on you to tell me when you’ve had enough, when a spot is just too tender or painful to treat, when things don’t work or you have a huge flare up. Human bodies are messy and diverse and sometimes have really wild reactions. I do my best to make sure you’re taken care of and are better off leaving my office than when you came in. 

So, if you hate needles, know you’re not alone. I hate them too. I didn’t let that hate limit me though and you don’t have to either. 

If you’re a fan of acupuncture, and you have friends that “would never” try it because…well, they hate needles, send this to them! Acupuncture doesn’t have to (and shouldn’t) suck. In fact, you should feel pretty dang good after a treatment, but, you won’t know unless you try.