Stimulating a protocol of acupressure points - known as "Emotional Freedom Technique" (EFT) - has been shown to be effective for reducing anxiety in post traumatic stress disorder. The protocol encourages individuals to focus on a triggering memory while tapping on the points. As described in this article, the "brain regions responsible for heightened affect, anxiety, and the fight–flight–freeze response can be regulated by acupuncture. Acupuncture has also been shown to produce endogenous opioids, increase production of serotonin, reduce the stress hormone cortisol, and modulate pain."

Endorphins rise as a result of acupuncture, thus some have attributed acupuncture's success in pain relief to just a temporary reaction to the skin being punctured. However, neuroscientists studying brain scans of patients receiving both "true" and "sham" acupuncture show that: "The true acupuncture groups showed measurable improvements in the speed of nerve transmission and in the somatosensory cortex that weren’t seen in the placebo group. And only the true acupuncture groups still had reduced pain after three months." Read the Guardian article here.