I go to quite a few networking events, since I somehow find myself on the steering committee for the Oak Cliff Chamber’s Young Professionals group. One thing people have asked me a lot this year is, “When do people come to acupuncture?” You can chime in if you like, because this is my best guess.
People come to see me when
1) When they know I can treat what they’ve got. There are lots of things that I could find out about with a little research, but I don’t often think of them. Same for acupuncture. It has been found effective enough to be endorsed by the WHO for many different conditions, including all kinds of pain (arthritis, back, migraines, menstrual, sciatic, post operative, stomach, knees, neck…), depression, side effects of cancer treatment, allergies, colic, blood pressure regulation, morning sickness, and malposition of fetus, to name a few. It’d be worth a quick google search, or a phone or email inquiry to me to see if I can help you. I know I get written off by a lot of people “because I don’t have pain” who are not particularly happy nor healthy!
2) They know I’m here. I do a bit of advertising, mostly on the web. I go to networkers, and I do get referrals from satisfied clients and from colleagues. I’ve been practicing on Bishop Ave. since April of 2006, but without a huge storefront (and the accompanying huge rent), and with an esoteric service, becoming known is a challenge.
3) When it bothers them enough that they get over their hangups. I had this initially, too. When I didn’t know better, acupuncture was fringe, hocus pocus, expensive, and just too icky to consider. Eventually I hurt enough to get over the cost barrier and the anticipation of needles. (People’s finances are individual enough that I’m not going to get into that. If you don’t have wiggle room in your budget, you don’t have it. I am always trying to gauge interest for low cost community sessions, but I don’t have so much wiggle room, either. So that is going to have to wait on the demand curve. Let me know you want it!) For me, eventually the hope and then the outcome of relief was worth the money. The needles are usually not unpleasant, but sometimes they do sting for a moment. Not as bad as what was bothering me. Chances are, not as bad as what is bothering you.
As with any therapy, treating something mild is generally more effective than treating something chronic, so don’t wait too long!