February 2005

Hungry

by Dr. Madeline Behrendt

The pangs come often now.

They show up during the drive from the house to the office. They intrude into the evening's entertainment, when you're not supposed to be thinking. And they fill in the empty spaces in practice, like after an adjustment, when a freshly unsubluxated practice member bounces out the door and leaves his or her subluxations with you. 

Because no matter who you are today, or what pile of gold is yours at this moment, or how many know your name...no matter what, you are hungry. Me, too.

Maybe the personal world stimulates your hunger. You want a better car, a different house, a break.

Or, it can show up at the office. You want to be busier, to have better quality people to serve, more appreciation.

Or, perhaps the broader world triggers hunger pangs. Why can't chiropractors just get along? What if just half of the erectile dysfunction commercials were replaced with chiropractic public service announcements? Could we have one full week where the media reported chiropractic news only, instead of allopathic news only?

Do you think hunger affects men and women differently? I won't speak for men, send me your comments. But women hunger to be healthy, they spend a lot of time, money, and energy chasing  health standards that get dangled in front of them like manolo pumps. They hunger to be "good mothers" and too many overcompensate for voices inside their heads that mock their mothering skills.

Some hunger to conquer the one body part they hate. Some to just keep it all together. For others the ache of not wanting to be thought of as "bad" is how they weigh every moment, except for the women who hunger to be "bad" (they're another column).

Do women hunger for money, power, a killer golf stroke, or the inanimate objects that men are known to pang for? Sure, women like trophies, but estrogen is the hormone of connecting and nurturing, so women hunger for great relationships ‑‑ the love and networks they create in their homes, work, and community.

Hunger is stimulated by the gap between potential and reality. Marketers know this and gleefully make people pay for their mental flirtations. Leaders know this and change lives as they step into that empty space. And hustlers waiting on every corner for the innocent, lazy, or fatigued know this as well.

In the world of health care, people hungry for health and wellness collide with the marketers, leaders, and hustlers.

As chiropractors, we deal with the public's hunger every day. People come in and they want to stop hurting, to have more energy, to have a better life. We see the gap between where they are and where they want to be: the distinctions between a subluxated and unsubluxated life. The adjustment is nourishment for the hungry.

Being hungry is different from starving. There's a difference in the action. Hunger stimulates actions that a person wants to do to reach a higher plane. Starving can stimulate actions a person never wanted to do to just to be able to stay in the same place or keep from sliding. In chiropractic values, hunger is constructive, starving is destructive.

When you think over the past week's hunger pangs, what were they about? They can reveal more about a person than a name, occupation, or iPod selections. And how loud were they? Is it getting noisy inside your head?

For those who are hungry for forward motion in the chiropractic profession, the annual ritual of the WCA International Summit in Washington, DC is approaching. You can visit the WCA website for details of dates, hotels, and speakers. The 2005 Summit is actually a little bit earlier this year, so be sure to check now so you can make the appropriate plans.

Each year at the WCA Summit I enjoy the speakers, reconnecting with close friends, as well as meeting new attendees. Last year, I spoke about the JVSR infertility research. I know many chiropractors are working with women who arrived in your offices because of this research and its publicity. I love getting feedback from so many of you about the new pregnancies and babies ‑‑ great work!

For those who are hungry for connection, for knowledge, and for subluxation‑centered chiropractic policy, come to the WCA Summit in 2005. See you there.

(Dr. Madeline Behrendt is chair of the WCA Council on Women's Health and associate editor of the Journal of Vertebral Subluxation Research [JVSR]. An author and speaker, she is committed to connecting women to chiropractic and chiropractors to women, and may be contacted at drmadeline@drmadelinedc.com)