‘An overwhelming, calming sensation’

Student veterans have the chance to reduce their stress one pinprick at a time.

The Veterans Acupuncture Clinic, a free service for UNM and CNM student veterans and their loved ones, holds sessions Tuesdays at 4 p.m. on the second floor of Student Health and Counseling.
Acupuncture helps veterans deal with everyday stresses, Doctor of Oriental Medicine Keith Drummond said.

“A lot of times, with veterans of combat, they are hyper-vigilant because they have had to be in war,” he said. “They are extremely alert and extremely tuned in to everything. It is hard for them to adjust and come back into a normal reaction to things, especially coming back to a university setting.”

Patients receive the standard ear-point acupuncture treatment used for stress management and rehabilitation purposes, said Constance Gehring, an acupuncturist at the clinic
“When people do this, they tend to make better decisions,” she said. “They are not as anxious, and they are more rounded.”

Veteran John Buckovetz attended two sessions and said the acupuncture was so effective, he is returning for a third time.
“It definitely gives you a sense of relaxation, no doubt about that,” he said. “An overwhelming calming sensation.”

Drummond said the clinic is a subset of the Albuquerque-based organization Acupuncturists Without Borders.

“They not only to respond to major disasters, but they go everywhere and provide services,” he said. “They are implementing a military stress-reduction project, which is what this is.”
Veteran Daniel Burns said he learned about the clinic from his girlfriend Maria Sanchez.

Sanchez said she enjoyed the treatment and found it beneficial.
“I’ve been once before this. It made me sleep better,” she said. “It doesn’t hurt at all. You can feel it going into your ear, but it’s not like a piercing.”

While it assists in stress management, acupuncture is not an absolute cure, Drummond said.

“Acupuncture isn’t a magic bullet,” he said. “It isn’t some miracle cure that you do once and you are dancing in the streets. It is just a way to balance your body, calm you down, and if you come and do it fairly regularly, you have a little more balance than you would have otherwise.”

*Veterans Acupuncture Clinic
Tuesdays
4 p.m.
Student Health and Counseling
2nd floor*