How the heck did you become an acupuncturist?
My Name Is Samantha
In 1998 I had acupuncture. Back in the day when barely a person knew about it. When it was called voodoo and hadn’t become an option for healthcare.
I was 27 years old and a hot stinking mess. I was recently divorced - married young, divorced young. The dissolution of my marriage broke my young heart. I was left with horrible distressing insomnia and a bout of situational depression.
I went to my doctor who did his thing - prescribed me medications. Medications to sleep and be more present in life. It didn’t work. I went back and he re-prescribed. That didn’t work either. I have vague memories of unrelenting sleepless nights and getting up the next day in sadness. Nothing was breaking the cycle.
To put a cherry on top, I had facial and tongue numbness from an injury to my facial nerve. I was told it would be permanent.
My job at the time was at a psychiatric hospital. They had just started offering acupuncture to patients with drug addictions and it was free to any employee of the hospital. One day at work, my boss secretly made an appointment and forced me to go. Yup, that’s how much of a hot mess I was, the boss was sending me off for acupuncture.
That first session of acupuncture was weird. Even now, I remember feeling all these different sensations I couldn’t describe. Tingling. Sparkly. Heavy.
Afterwards I went back to my desk and started to fall asleep. What the heck was going on??? I hadn’t felt sleepy in months. I made it through the day and headed home. I had dinner and laid down on the couch - I was weary.
The next thing I knew, it was 6am in the morning. I was still in my clothes and the TV was blaring. Oh my god, I had slept 11 hours straight… and completely without medications. Needless to say, I was sold. I kept going back for more acupuncture.
Four months later, my doctor weaned me off all the medications. I was sleeping. My mood had started to brighten up.
But here’s the weirdest part, my facial numbness… it was gone.
My facial nerve recovered and it wasn’t even a part of the acupuncture treatments. Somehow I got the feeling back, which was especially important as I couldn’t feel half of my smile. Even my neurologist was shocked. He thought for sure it was permanent.
I couldn’t deny the interesting connection between the body and mind. Hell, this didn’t exist in the physical therapy program I was enrolled in at Mercy College. Could there be a solution for the elderly man who was depressed with shoulder tendonitis? Could his depressed mood need as much support as his painful shoulder? Would his shoulder improve if his sadness was recognized? Could a patient be more than one component but rather a multifaceted human with interlocking health patterns?
The young me, I had no clue that the ongoing journey to explore the connection between the mind, body and heart would occur.
In 2000, I applied and was accepted to an accelerated masters program in acupuncture and Chinese herbs.
In acupuncture school, I treated my first fertility client. It was a beautiful journey with an amazing client, who gave birth to a little girl. I knew immediately how special it was to see the unfolding of the emotional and physical to assist the client in conceiving. I was hooked and spent my career dedicated to understanding, studying, guiding and recognizing all the elements which get poured into the journey to conceive.
In 2003, I graduated and started private practice with a focus on fertility. All these years later, I still love treating fertility. It’s a rewarding and expansive experience for me. My clients are thoughtful, kind and connective. It’s an honor to be present to the journey my clients go on.
To see their babies is the cherry on top of the journey I take with them.
