• ACUPUNCTURE FOR CHRONIC CONDITIONS

Living with a chronic condition can be deeply challenging. Symptoms may fluctuate from day to day, often affecting energy, sleep, pain levels, digestion and the nervous system. For many people, the experience can feel unpredictable and exhausting, especially when symptoms persist despite trying many different approaches.

Conditions such as fibromyalgia, ME/CFS, dysautonomia, allergies, and MCAS often involve complex interactions between the immune system, nervous system, and the body’s ability to regulate itself. Many people come to acupuncture looking for gentle, supportive care that acknowledges the whole picture of their health.

While medical care and other therapies are often an important part of managing chronic conditions, acupuncture offers a natural, supportive approach that focuses on restoring balance within the body and helping systems that have become dysregulated to settle and stabilise over time.

Rather than pushing the body, acupuncture works with it - supporting the body’s own capacity to regulate, recover and conserve energy.

What you might be experiencing

  • Persistent fatigue or post-exertional exhaustion

  • Widespread pain, tenderness or heightened sensitivity

  • Brain fog, difficulty concentrating or memory lapses

  • Dizziness or palpitations

  • Digestive disturbances, nausea or food sensitivities

  • Allergy symptoms such as rashes, sinus congestion or itching

  • Heightened reactivity of the immune or nervous system

  • Poor sleep or waking feeling unrefreshed

  • Fluctuating symptoms that are difficult to predict or manage

How Acupuncture May Help with chRonic illness

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), many chronic conditions are understood as patterns of depletion, dysregulation and disrupted flow within the body’s systems.

Over time, the body’s resources may become depleted, particularly within the Spleen, Kidney, and Liver channels, which play important roles in energy production, immune function, and the smooth regulation of the body’s systems.

In some chronic conditions, the body’s defensive energy – known as Wei Qi – may become weakened or overly reactive. This can be reflected in symptoms such as allergies, inflammation, or immune hypersensitivity seen in conditions like MCAS and chronic allergic conditions.

Acupuncture aims to gently restore harmony within these systems. Many people describe acupuncture as helping their body “settle”, allowing symptoms to become more manageable and energy to stabilise over time. Research suggests acupuncture may support chronic illness by influencing the nervous system, reducing inflammation, modulating immune activity, and supporting pain regulation.

What a Treatment Plan Looks Like

Your First Appointment

Your first session allows time to explore your health history in detail. Chronic conditions are rarely simple, so understanding the full picture - symptoms, triggers, energy patterns, sleep, digestion, hormone heath and stress - helps shape a treatment plan that is tailored to you.

A Personalised Treatment Plan

Treatments are always adapted to your current energy levels. For people with chronic illness, acupuncture is often approached gently, using fewer needles and techniques that support the nervous system without overwhelming the body.

We will always have a chat at the start to understand where you are at that week.

Gradual & SUSTAINABLE progress

With complex conditions, progress tends to be gradual. Early treatments often focus on stabilising symptoms - improving sleep, easing pain, or calming reactivity - before building energy and resilience over time.

We also work on nervous system dysregulation and aim to encourage the body to shift out of “survival mode” and into a calmer state where healing and regulation are more possible.

Lifestyle & Wellbeing GuidancE

Acupuncture may be combined with other gentle approaches within Chinese medicine such as dietary guidance, acupressure, or lifestyle adjustments that support pacing, energy conservation, and nervous system balance.

Who This Approach Tends to Help

  • People living with fibromyalgia or chronic widespread pain

  • Those with ME/CFS or long-term fatigue conditions

  • Individuals with dysautonomia or POTS-like symptoms

  • People experiencing allergies, chemical sensitivities, or MCAS

  • Those whose nervous systems feel easily overwhelmed or reactive

  • Anyone seeking gentle, supportive care alongside their medical treatment

  • People looking for a holistic approach that respects the complexity of chronic illness

From My Perspective

Supporting people with chronic conditions requires patience, compassion and a deep respect for the body’s limits.

Many people with long-term illness have spent years searching for answers, often feeling unheard or misunderstood. My approach is always to listen carefully and meet you where you are, working at a pace that feels supportive rather than demanding.

Acupuncture is not about pushing the body to do more than it can. Instead, it creates space for the nervous system to soften, the body to regulate, and healing processes to unfold gently over time.

For many people, treatment becomes a place of rest and recalibration - a quiet moment where the body can begin to restore balance.

What people are saying

“Saskia has been a big part of the puzzle that is my long Covid recovery journey. She is knowledgeable, compassionate and professional. She always put me at ease and really listened to me. I found her sessions made a real difference to my recovery. I’m so glad I found her and tried acupuncture!”

— Emma B

“I can’t recommend Saskia enough. I attended several acupuncture appointments, and each time left feeling as though I’d had the reset I so desperately needed, whether it was physical or emotional.

She’s incredibly kind and caring in nature and I felt at ease at every appointment.”

— Jamie M

“Saskia is a very skilled practitioner with lots of knowledge and uses many different techniques which have been highly effective at treating my fatigue, brain fog and shoulder pain. She is warm, compassionate and friendly. I don’t hesitate to recommend her.”

— Laura M

Practical Details

I offer treatments in Belgravia and Blackheath, both calm, discreet clinics easily accessible by public transport.

  • Sessions typically last around 60 minutes

  • Opening hours are flexible to suit your schedule

  • Costs and booking details are available here

  • I am a member of the British Acupuncture Council and the Acupuncture Fertility Network (AFN)

  • All consultations and treatments are confidential and everyone is welcome

  • Health insurance invoices available - please see FAQs for details

Frequently Asked Questions

Still have questions? Take a look at the FAQ or reach out anytime.

  • Yes. Treatments are always adapted to your energy levels and sensitivity. Very gentle approaches can be used, and sessions can be adjusted depending on how your body responds.

  • Chronic conditions often benefit from a course of treatments rather than a single session. The frequency and duration vary depending on the individual, but many people begin with regular sessions to help stabilise symptoms.

  • Yes. Acupuncture is commonly used as a therapy that complements medical treatment, helping to support symptom management and overall wellbeing.

  • Because acupuncture works with the body as an interconnected system, it often supports several symptoms simultaneously such as sleep, pain, digestion, and energy levels, but it does depend on the person.

Book Your Appointment

You can book your first consultation or follow-up session online via the links below or email hello@saskiahawkins.com

Book in Blackheath
Book in Belgravia