View from the couch

shared professional practice, and I look forward to more joint projects. I'd like to say here that without the amazing efforts of RCHM president and BAcC member Alex Jacobs, I think I'd still be working on the guidelines now; a huge thankyou to Alex from me.

As a keen gardener I plant a seed, watch it grow and am always amazed when it opens up, flowers and then fruits. To grow well, though, and to bear fruit, it takes time and nurture, sun and rain. A seed can’t be forced or rushed, but it can be encouraged and fed. I am passionate about developing a recognition of all BAcC members’ professionalism; we are the best trained and most professional acupuncturists in the UK and I want us to get proper and full recognition for that. But, like growing plants, it takes time to go from idea to fruition.

It has always been obvious to me that BAcC acupuncturists should sit alongside other healthcare professionals like physiotherapists and osteopaths etc. The pandemic has cemented this in place for me. Opening up and gaining improved recognition for us is happening step by step; it is a journey with a clear destination, even though the route takes time to travel. Please bear with us to help us get there. To quote Walter Payton: ‘We are stronger together than we are alone’.

I'll be back...

Sarah Attwell

BAcC Chair

I am delighted to announce that, at the ripe old age of 42 and with a little help from acupuncture, Chinese dietary therapy and biomedicine, my wife and I are expecting our first little miracle in October.

My maternity leave begins after September’s AGM, where I will be handing the baton over to Pia Huber as interim chair until my return to the role in February. Pia is the longest standing practitioner member of the Governing Board. She is well respected, and fiercely passionate about our profession and our members, so I can relax safe in the knowledge that she is at the helm.

During this interim period, Pia will be supported by Naresh Rao in his existing capacity as vice chair. It goes without saying that she also has the unanimous respect and support of the Governing Board. I hope you will join us in lending her our congratulations and support.

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FROM THE COUCH

Nina gave full consent for her name to be published along with her story.

When I first found acupuncture, my life was in freefall. I was in the depths of anxiety and depression. It got so bad I pointed my car at a wall with the intention of ending my life.

I was recovering from breast cancer, my mother had recently died, and I was about to live on my own for the first time. After years of taking pills, I was disillusioned with them and counselling wasn’t helping me. I knew I needed something else.

An internet search gave me the idea to try acupuncture after I searched for alternative ways to treat my complaints. It was the one therapy that stood out for me and this is where my new life began.

Even after a couple of treatments things began to change. The pieces of myself began to fit together again. I felt more confident, happy and calm and the anxiety and depression vastly reduced.

Once I started to feel better, I began to tackle other areas of my life that I wanted to improve. I set my mind to losing weight and I joined Slimming World where I lost six stones in six months. Acupuncture came in to help me here too as my practitioner used needles in my ear to support the diet. Losing weight has helped me hold my head up and be proud of who I am.

I’ve done so many things since I first had acupuncture in 2018. I found a shamanic healer in the area and this helped open me up to a new world – I learnt to meditate, I attended regular sound baths and I learnt how to do shamanic dreaming. I went on a Zen Buddhist retreat and I started learning reiki. I'm on the last part of reiki level 2 to get my qualification to practise if I choose to.

Although lockdown has been hard, I’ve carried on working throughout for the Royal Mail – where I’ve earned the nickname ‘Nina the meditating postie’ – and this has helped me to stay connected to the wider world. Lockdown has brought challenges as the social events I was so recently introduced to and that I loved so much were stopped, and I was forced to spend more time alone. I found that meeting others over Zoom helped hugely and I started learning yoga online, which I never saw myself doing before lockdown, so it has brought some gifts.

Overall I have coped well and I’m really proud of that. And I’m so grateful to acupuncture for helping me to reimagine my way of living and giving me the tools to cope with whatever life throws at me.