Americans are running on overdrive, and it’s showing up in the nation’s mental health. According to National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) and national survey data, roughly 1 in 5 adults in the United States experience a mental illness each year, with depression and anxiety being the most common.

Talk therapy remains one of the most effective tools available, and for many, medication is a necessary, even life-saving component of their treatment. However, depression and anxiety don’t only live in the mind. They also live in the body, as evidenced by shoulders that won’t drop, a chest that stays tight and a nervous system that never shifts into rest-and-digest. Talk therapy mainly works through language. Energy work, meanwhile, enters from a different point—the body itself—without asking the client to talk, explain or relive anything. For people who’ve done real work in therapy and still feel “stuck” somewhere words can’t reach, that difference can matter.

Research is catching up with what energy healing practitioners have long observed. A 2025 randomized controlled trial found that Reiki, a common form of energy healing, significantly reduced depression scores compared to a control group, and a 2025 meta-analysis found that Reiki improved quality of life across multiple patient populations, with measurable emotional benefits.

None of this makes energy work a replacement for therapy or medication; both treatment options remain essential and non-negotiable for many. But as a complementary approach that meets the nervous system where talk alone can’t always reach, energy healing may offer real support for a country that’s forgotten how to put down what it’s been carrying.

Jessie Rudi, Ph.D., Reiki Master, Pranic healer and intuitive practices energy healing in Wayzata, MN and virtually. For more information and appointments, call 612-669-7037 or email [email protected]. Mention this Health Brief and receive 10% off your first session.