Acupuncture students slowly lose the ability to sound normal in public. From asking strangers to stick out their tongues to casually discussing “Liver attacking Spleen,” this is a painfully accurate look at the weird, hilarious, and oddly profound things that happen when Traditional Chinese Medicine rewires your brain.
At some point in acupuncture school, your brain starts changing. You stop seeing symptoms separately and start noticing patterns everywhere — in posture, sleep, stress, digestion, emotions, and even yourself. A funny, slightly unhinged, and surprisingly profound look at how studying Traditional Chinese Medicine rewires the way you observe the world.
Acupuncture isn’t one thing anymore. From cosmetic acupuncture and mobile treatments to community clinics, nervous system care, and complex chronic illness cases—modern acupuncturists are building wildly different careers. Here’s why that matters for the future of Chinese medicine.
A reflection on generous teaching, “secret methods,” and why sharing real clinical details matters in Traditional Chinese Medicine. The more effective, skilled, and confident practitioners we create, the stronger trust in acupuncture becomes for everyone.
What starts as “just trying to survive acupuncture school” slowly becomes something deeper. In this honest guest post, Julie Tattrie-Johnson shares how Traditional Chinese Medicine helped her understand anxiety, nervous system overwhelm, and the fear of failure—not just in theory, but in her own life. From shaky commutes to herbal formulas and finding connection in clinic, this is a story about learning to heal while learning medicine.