Stress and Taxes at Joyce Wellness

April 10, 2012 - PRLog -- Santa Monica, CA  March 30, 2012 - There are few occasions more stressful than Tax time.  Megan Joyce, owner of Joyce Wellness, a Santa Monica acupuncture and herbal medicine practice, sees twice as many patients with stress related ailments during the tax season.  Some of these patients have stress over money they owe, or about filing before the deadline, but in either case they have found acupuncture as an effective stress reliever.  Acupuncture works to alleviate stress by releasing natural pain-killing chemicals in the brain, called endorphins.  In addition, acupuncture improves circulation of blood throughout the body, which oxygenates the tissues and cycles out cortisol and other waste chemicals.  The calming nature of acupuncture also decreases heart rate, lowers blood pressure and relaxes the muscles.  Another stress relieving attribute of acupuncture and herbal medicine, especially this time of year, is that they are tax deductible.  Both fall under the definition of a medical expense, which is:  “The costs of diagnosis, cure, mitigation, treatment, or prevention of diseases, and the costs for treatments affecting any part or function of the body.  They include the costs of equipment, supplies, and diagnostic devices needed for these purposes.”  The deductible amount includes payments made for spouses, children, and other dependents as well.

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Megan Joyce utilizes her skills as both an acupuncturist and an herbalist to help patients at Joyce Wellness overcome a variety of ailments, and specializes in women’s health issues. Prior to opening Joyce Wellness in January of 2011, Ms. Joyce spent time as an acupuncturist in Los Angeles at UCLA’s Arthur Ashe Medical Center and the Simms/ Mann Venice Family Clinic. She also introduced the beneficial effects of Oriental Medicine to patients in Peru, Ecuador, and Honduras. In addition to her work at Joyce Wellness, Megan Joyce is also the co-founder of the One World Health Project (http://www.owhp.org/), a non-profit dedicated to providing acupuncture and herbal medicine to underserved communities locally and abroad.