PLEASE NOTE :: these are archived forum posts from years past, further discussions should happen on our social media channels.

Vivid Dreams after Acupuncture

By Archived User | Updated: Dec 31, 2021 | Published: Dec 31, 2021

I have just started going to a new practitioner about a month and a half ago. I visit weekly. I am being treated for Liver Qi Stagnation. I have generalized anxiety disorder and panic attacks due to PTSD.

Ever since my first visit I started having extremely vivid dreams every single night. This has continued for a month and a half. I took this week off because I am starting to be afraid of my nightly dreams. The dreams are not nightmares only they are so vivid they are frightening when I wake up. I even had a dream about a friend that had an emergency C section and had various issues with the baby and the next day found out everything in my dream had actually happened during the night.

This dream and the others are starting to make me really afriad and my practitioner hasn't offered any information or suggestions.

Does anyone have any similar situations or experience with this type of reaction to acupuncture?

Thank you!

Archived Comments

Comment by Chad J. Dupuis, L.Ac.

Not knowing the details of your case or the treatment points used, what I can offer should be taken lightly. There is a clinical significance to dreaming in Chinese Medicine and specific pathologies for nightmares and other patterns of dream activity. Generally dream disturbed sleep falls into the category of heart blood and/or yin deficiency - which is often a strong component of anxiety/PTSD, etc. - in addition to the LV Qi stagnation which is often involved but not necessarily.

There are a range of responses to acupuncture and side effects are generally very, very minimal - if any at all. From a very basic perspective an increase in dream activity could be contributed to by the acupuncture by focusing too much on movement of stagnation instead of building up a deficiency of say Heart Blood.

What you are describing, however, is something more akin to building your perception abilities. Certain people experience a range of perceptive changes like this over time and anything from acupuncture, yoga, tai chi, meditation, etc. can start and/or contribute to this process. It's possible that the acupuncture is contributing to some "ability" you may have already had innately.

Discuss further on social media:
Share on LinkedIn Share on Bluesky Share on Facebook