Suffering from stress? Let’s pinpoint how the Five Element Acupuncture theory could help
Whether it’s modern life demands like work pressures, financial worries or health concerns, stress can be caused from a combination of factors.
And according to Mental Health UK’s Burnout Report 2025, it’s something the majority of us suffer with. The report shows 91% of all 4,418 adults surveyed said they have experienced ‘high pressure’ or ‘stress’ at some point over the last year. While one in three adults say they experience high or extreme levels of stress, ‘always’ or ‘often’.
As an Osteopath and Acupuncturist, I’ve seen a rise in the number of patients seeking help from stress. Unfortunately, at some point in our lives, we all go through periods of stress. But when this constant stress is left untreated, it can lead to chronic stress which can result in various undesirable health problems, like high blood pressure, anxiety and more.
To help, I use the Five Element Acupuncture theory.
What is acupuncture?
Before we dive into the Five Element Acupuncture theory, it’s important to understand how acupuncture works.
Acupuncture is based on the understanding that there are passages within the body known as meridians in which energy, or Chi, flows through. It is believed that destruction of these paths causes physical and emotional imbalance.
Therefore, the insertion of acupuncture needles works to restore mental and physical wellness by stimulating certain pressure points within the body. This stimulation releases endorphins and allows the free flow of energy to continue.
It’s been used for more than 3,000 years to help maintain the body’s overall balance.
And studies have shown that this form of alternative medicine may specifically benefit stress/anxiety disorders. That’s because acupuncture is believed to stimulate the nervous system and cause the release of neurochemical messenger molecules.
The resulting biochemical changes influence the body’s homeostatic mechanisms, and in turn, reduce sensitivity to pain and stress and promote relaxation. The calming nature of this complementary theory is therefore believed to decrease the heart rate, lower blood pressure and relax the muscles.
So, what is the Five Element Theory?
The Five Element Acupuncture theory was a recent subject of discussion at a continuous learning development workshop I attended at the College of Integrated Chinese Medicine at the end of last year. But it’s a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) theory that I’ve been using for decades and one that dates back to 200 BC.
In TCM, the five elements are Wood, Fire, Earth, Metal and Water and each element is associated with different biological functions, colours, emotions, organs, meridians and seasons.
For example:
- Wood – this relates to your liver, gallbladder and eyes and is known as the anger emotion.
- Fire – this relates to your heart, small intestine and tongue and is known as the joy emotion.
- Earth – this element relates to your spleen, stomach and mouth and is known as the worry emotion.
- Metal – this element relates to your lung, large intestine and nose and is known as the grief emotion.
- Water – whereas this element relates to your kidney and bladder and is known as the fear emotion.
As a Five Element Acupuncturist and Osteopath, I treat the person and not the symptom, getting to the root cause of the problem. And one way I can do this is by using the Five Elements Theory to help me identify the Constitutional Factor (CF) which helps me correct the imbalance of energy within the body.
The CF is usually the first element to go out of balance and will be exhibited in the patient. For example, amongst other things, someone might be exhibiting anger, which, after using sensory cues from the patient including colour, sound, odour and emotion, could tell me their ‘wood’ element is out of balance. Therefore I would focus on the specific meridians associated with the CF.
The evidence
One 2017 study said the concept of the five elements could lead to a better understanding of the relationship between cells.
Whereas a 2020 article, which looked at the Western medicine, homeopathic medicine, and TCM, concluded that: “Considering the Five Elements theory in the diagnosis and treatment of the patient could lead to a deeper and more effective diagnosis and treatment.”
The same article said this was because practitioners may be able to work with a more “complete and integrated view of the human being” and manage to treat from the root of the problem and not just the symptom.
Pointing you in the right direction
Whilst many people try practicing relaxation techniques such as yoga or deep breathing to help reduce stress, if you are suffering from chronic stress, I would consider adding acupuncture to your list.
Denise is a member of the British Acupuncture Council and The British Medical Acupuncture Council. Having trained with experts in China, the birthplace of Acupuncture, Denise has since become an expert in the field, subsequently becoming aware of the great benefits of the treatment. If you’re intrigued to find out more, please don’t hesitate to contact the Bromley-based clinic or book in for a treatment.
