## Support for cutting down, quitting, and recovering
People come to us about alcohol and other habits for different reasons. Some want to cut back before it becomes a problem. Some are already in a recovery program and want help with the sleeplessness, cravings, and anxiety that come with it. Some have stopped smoking three times and want something to make the fourth attempt hold. And some simply want their stomach, their sleep, and their mornings back.
Acupuncture and herbal medicine are not a substitute for medical care, counseling, or a recovery program. They work alongside them — and for many people, they make the hardest stretch easier to get through.
## What the 1613 text says about drink
The Donguibogam, the 1613 master text, gives alcohol a long and surprisingly balanced treatment in its Internal Damage chapter. We translated it in full.
[→ Internal Damage — full translated chapter]
It begins by giving wine its due. Nothing, it says, is better for warding off cold, moving the blood, and carrying medicine where it needs to go. Then it names the other side in the same breath: in the deepest cold the sea freezes but wine does not — that is its heat; and drinking it clouds the mind and changes a person's nature — that is its toxin.
It is also honest about why people drink more than they mean to. Wine is fragrant and pleasant, it eases the body, and so the drinker does not notice going past the limit. It even records, without judgment, the person harmed because others pressed them to keep drinking.
## Early signs, and late ones
The chapter's most useful passage separates what heavy drinking does at first from what it does over years.
**Early:** nausea and vomiting, sweating, skin breakouts, a red nose, loose stools, and pain at the top of the stomach. At this stage, it says, the problem is still shallow and can be cleared.
**Late:** excessive thirst, yellowing of the skin, a swollen belly, hemorrhoids, failing eyesight, wheezing and chronic cough, seizures. Read today, that list describes diabetes, liver disease, and the neurological damage of long-term drinking.
The lesson for anyone who drinks is the same one the chapter draws: the early signs are the body's warning, and it is far easier to act on them than on the late ones. It adds a portrait anyone who has known a heavy drinker will recognize — the person who wakes every morning retching and belching but bringing nothing up — and gives it its own treatment.
## Practical counsel from the same chapter
Much of the chapter's advice on drinking still holds:
- No more than three cups. Beyond that, it says, the organs are harmed and the temper turns.
- Don't drink fast or roughly.
- Don't force a heavy meal on top of drunkenness.
- Don't drink heavily at night, or on a full stomach.
- Someone pale and easily tired should drink less than others, because alcohol uses up the blood.
The same chapter also lists formulas for "drinking without getting drunk." We don't use those. Our aim is the opposite: to help the body recover and to make drinking less necessary.
## Quitting smoking and other substances
For smoking, alcohol, and other dependencies, we use acupuncture to support the process of stopping. The best-known approach is the NADA protocol: five small points on the ear, used in recovery programs and clinics for decades to ease cravings, restlessness, poor sleep, and anxiety during withdrawal. We combine it with body points chosen for the individual — for sleep, for stress, for digestion, for the irritability and low mood that often come with quitting.
Many people find the first weeks are when acupuncture helps most: the cravings are strongest, sleep is worst, and the nervous system is most unsettled. Regular sessions during that window, alongside whatever other support you have, can make the difference between a hard week and an impossible one.
## What treatment looks like here
Acupuncture is the core of addiction support: the NADA ear points, plus body points for what each person is struggling with. For alcohol, herbal medicine helps repair what drinking has strained. From the Internal Damage chapter:
[Galhwahaejeong-tang 葛花解酲湯] — the chapter's main formula for damage from drink, clearing it through a light sweat and the urine
[Daegeum-eumja 對金飮子] — for headache, vomiting, and dizziness after drinking
[Sojojung-tang 小調中湯] — for the drinker's morning retching and belching
[Bojungikgi-tang 補中益氣湯] — modified, for a worn-out digestion and low energy during recovery
If drinking has left your digestion unsettled, read more here — [Digestive health]
What to expect depends on where you are starting from. Some people want help through a few weeks of quitting; others come regularly through a longer recovery. We'll talk honestly about what acupuncture can and can't do for your situation.
## Please read this part
Some situations need medical care first, and not later.
**Do not stop heavy daily drinking suddenly without talking to a physician.** Alcohol withdrawal can cause seizures and can be life-threatening. The same is true of some medications, including benzodiazepines. Medically supervised withdrawal is the safe way to stop.
**Get emergency care if you have:** shaking, sweating, confusion, hallucinations, or a seizure after cutting back or stopping; vomiting blood, or black, tarry stools; yellowing of the skin or eyes, or a rapidly swelling belly; or confusion with unsteady walking and changes in your vision.
**If you are having thoughts of harming yourself,** call or text **988** (Suicide & Crisis Lifeline). For free, confidential help finding treatment, the SAMHSA National Helpline is available any time at **1-800-662-4357**.
The 1613 chapter draws the same line in its own way. It lists the late diseases of drinking as beyond easy treatment, and it describes pain at the top of the stomach after heavy drinking, with blood gathered inside, as its own serious condition.
**This approach may help if you're dealing with:** wanting to cut down on drinking · cravings and restlessness while quitting · poor sleep in early recovery · quitting smoking · anxiety and irritability during withdrawal, under medical supervision where needed · digestive problems from drinking · morning nausea and low energy · support alongside a recovery program or counseling.
The Donguibogam translation project at formulas.raahacupuncture.com is researched and translated by Eui Young (Justin) Chung, L.Ac., Dipl. O.M. — the same clinician you'll see in the treatment room.