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NOV 16 · 2026

Trusted Practitioners Transforming Lives

Let’s share the experiences that inspired us, so others can see what’s possible

#MyAcupunctureStory

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See all the ways to take part ↓

Got 30 seconds? That’s enough to take part.

Follow our WhatsApp channel or ETCMA. You’ll get the campaign materials, news and stories as they come, and you can decide later how much more you’d like to do.

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People don’t wake up wanting acupuncture. They wake up wanting relief. Hope. Their life back.

For many of us, it was our experience as a patient that changed the path of our lives.

Not because we were told what acupuncture could do, but because of the person who helped us feel like ourselves again.

This World Acupuncture Awareness Day, let’s share the inspiring stories that brought us here.

Before we trained as acupuncturists, so many of us were patients.

Many of us can name the experience.

Few of us share it.

The moment before all of that, when we were just someone who needed help, sitting in a waiting room, hoping this might help.

An acupuncturist entered our life and it affected us so deeply that we decided to give years of our lives to learning how to do it for somebody else.

This passion, that so many of us embody, is one of the most persuasive things our profession owns.

A woman laughing, relaxed, sitting in a busy café

When you share the story of when you were a patient, you speak from two places at once

As an acupuncturist or student acupuncturist, you bring training and credibility. As a former patient, you’re relatable: an ordinary person who was once looking for help.

An abstract claim about acupuncture can easily become the subject of argument. An honest, personal account of how a skilled, empathic acupuncturist helped you is much harder to dismiss.

An acupuncture tutor guiding a student as she takes a patient’s pulse, while classmates take notes

When people hear how working with an acupuncturist affected you, the natural thought is:

They are just like me.
Maybe that could help me too.

Every acupuncturist has a story. What’s yours?

Share your origin story so others can see what is possible

Share how seeing an acupuncturist inspired you to train.

Video Audio Written In your own language

Imagine you are talking to one person who is where you once were. Reflect on these five questions, in this order:

  1. What was life like for you before you worked with an acupuncturist?

  2. Why did you choose to work with an acupuncturist?

  3. What was it about your experience with your acupuncturist that made a difference to you?

  4. What changed for you?

  5. Why did that experience inspire you to become an acupuncturist?

Express, don’t impress. Your honest experience is what makes it powerful.

No need to promote acupuncture: your experience says it best.

You don’t need a dramatic story. Honest, ordinary experience is what people connect with. When they recognise themselves in you, that’s what makes them think an acupuncturist might help them too. No special equipment, experience or presentation skills needed.

Where your story goes: after a quick review, we share it on ETCMA’s social media, the YouTube stories playlist and the Stories page of this site. Stories sent before 16 November are featured in the public week, 16–23 November.

Share your story

Not ready to share yet? Every voice helps more people discover what our profession has to offer them. Follow our WhatsApp channel to hear when there’s an action we can take together, and follow ETCMA so every story reaches further.

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  • Any language
  • You can stay anonymous
  • Your email is never published

How you can join your community in taking action

One shared campaign. Three pathways. Pick the one that fits you, and start at the level that works for you.

No one is expected to do everything. Every level counts, and Level 1 takes 30 seconds.

  • National organisations

    1. Level 1Repost our ready-made content and point members to the invitation
    2. Level 2Invite acupuncturists and colleges to join in, and translate materials
    3. Level 3Promote the campaign nationally and run national or local World Acupuncture Awareness Day activity

    Free national organisation pack: ready-to-send emails and editable social posts, so engaging your members takes very little staff time. Email [email protected] to get it.

    Email for the packOpen the toolkit

    Want to stay in the loop first? Follow our WhatsApp channel to get materials as they’re released.

    Follow on WhatsApp

  • Colleges and schools

    1. Level 1Share the invitation with students and staff, and repost our content
    2. Level 2Find and encourage students or teachers with an origin story
    3. Level 3Build a showcase of student stories for your college

    Free college resource pack: ready-to-send emails and editable social posts, so engaging your students, staff and alumni takes very little time. Email [email protected] to get it.

    Email for the packOpen the toolkit

    Want to stay in the loop first? Follow our WhatsApp channel to get materials as they’re released.

    Follow on WhatsApp

  • Acupuncturists and student acupuncturists

    1. Level 1Follow our WhatsApp channel and ETCMA, and repost campaign content
    2. Level 2Send us your origin story: how treatment inspired you to train
    3. Level 3Encourage colleagues to take part, or volunteer for the campaign
    Follow on WhatsAppShare your story

    Not ready to share yet? Every voice helps more people discover what our profession has to offer them. Follow our WhatsApp channel to hear when there’s an action we can take together, and follow ETCMA so every story reaches further.

    How to share the campaign on social media →

Join the World Acupuncture Awareness Day community

Two easy ways to stay connected with colleagues around the world in the run-up to 16 November.

A group of acupuncturists chatting and laughing together outdoors in a park

Get updates on WhatsApp

Follow our WhatsApp channel for campaign news, new materials and the stories as they come in. One tap to follow, and you can leave at any time.

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Follow and share

If recording yourself isn’t for you, sharing the campaign counts just as much. Our community doesn’t have massive marketing budgets, but there are thousands of us who deeply care.

Ready-made posts to share →

World Acupuncture Awareness Day 2026 is your chance to join your colleagues in speaking together.

It is the many small drops that make a wave.

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Campaign resources

Guidance and materials from the ETCMA working group. More will be added as they are released.

Story guide

The five questions, what we mean by each, and how to tell your story in your own words.

Read the guide →

Share on social media

Ready-to-use campaign wording, tone tips and how to share in your own language.

Start sharing →

Toolkit for organisations and colleges

The campaign in brief, your pathway and levels, the benefits, and what ETCMA provides.

Open the toolkit →

Questions about consent, privacy or how stories are used? Read the FAQ

About World Acupuncture Awareness Day 2026

World Acupuncture Awareness Day 2026 takes place on 16 November 2026. World Acupuncture Awareness Day is an initiative of the European Traditional Chinese Medicine Association (ETCMA). Acupuncturists and student acupuncturists are invited to share the patient experience that inspired them to train, using #MyAcupunctureStory and #WAAD2026.