July 2008

A rational explanation for why your patients don't 'get it'

by Dr. Kevin Pallis and Dr. Ed Plentz

Perhaps the most impactful article you will ever read on the dynamics of practice members' behavior concerns one of the most frustrating daily events in offices everywhere. It's about the failure of people to grasp the "big idea" of chiropractic. A few people here and there still seem to "get it," but the majority are still stuck in the paradigm of chiropractic solely for musculoskeletal relief. What is the rational explanation of why your patients don't get the big idea? The answer is that they suffer from a state known as "healthlessness."

health*less*ness (noun) 1) a state or condition of unhealth and a belief that you are healthy when you are not 2) a profound state of psychosis or trance-like state that displays an uncaring attitude and behavior towards others including: extreme resistance to procedures, recommendations or patient education materials, polluting one's environment, violence, intolerance of other's beliefs, inequality and oppression based on heritage, skin color or ethnic background, lack of parenting ability and commitment, geared heavily toward self-gain 3) a state of profound ego-driven confusion that believes in disease rather than health; not only do they have an extreme aversion to patient education, they create the predicament of the species or all the below-the-line wretched conditions the world finds itself in.

As you can see from the definition, you are going to incur resistance from people who enter your office suffering from this condition or state. No wonder they have so much difficulty being educated. They already believe they're healthy. They're coming to you for help with what a delusional person thinks a chiropractor is good for, namely strains and sprains of the neck and back. Anything outside of that paradigm causes them to shut down and become evasive, resistant, and uncooperative.

What's the solution for this societal belief in disease? The answer may surprise you. It's patient education towards health and away from disease.

Anytime we as DCs give relief to people in the state of healthlessness with no patient education about health and the role of chiropractic in health, we unknowingly reinforce their psychotic state. Each person who leaves our offices without the paradigm shift of health will find it harder and harder to grasp the concept of health. Their belief in disease grows to epidemic proportions. Evidence of this delusional belief is the complete acceptance and embrace of children's and adult disease processes. In this condition or state there is nothing wrong with disease. Healthlessness is everywhere and affects everyone. There are actually laws proclaiming and protecting society's right to believe in disease.

Think of the impact healthlessness has on society. It is akin to wearing dark sunglasses all day long. Even in brilliant sunlight it appears to the healthless person that it's a cloudy day. Consider a parent attempting to nurture and raise a child in today's complicated world. Every decision is compromised and complicated because of the tone of the parent's sunglasses. In this case, the darkened paradigm is the complete acceptance and embrace of children's challenges today. Autism, allergies, asthma, anxiety, autoimmune diseases and we aren't even out of the A's. Instead of solutions, healthless people cling to conditions, diagnoses and institutions that reinforce and make it socially acceptable to be sick. Think of the support clubs that actually promote the actual disease or illness that the members say they want help with.

Imagine belonging to a group that has a belief in the condition or disease and not the solution. It would be like joining a group to be wealthy and the group was comprised of people who were broke and only gave lip service to the thought of being wealthy. If you brought this to the attention of the group, sparks would fly. This is the law of healthlessness. People will listen, however they won't act because the condition is invisible to them. They want to believe, but they don't have the staying power or the discipline to keep away from the dark allure of disease, limitation and lack.

The solution to healthlessness is the DC, our offices, and our staffs. All must convey health. Our patient education should be aimed at changing the healthless paradigm to a health paradigm. Each time we as DCs let our beliefs slip the consequence is a multiplication of the healthless paradigm. Society is waiting to learn the role of the nerve system in health and disease. Haven't they waited long enough? It's up to us to lead the way to health. Become a health leader in your community today.

(The New Renaissance is a movement of passionate chiropractors dedicated to changing the world. The leader in patient education since 1977, the Mentor IV Coaching Program is a step-by-step navigational guide that embodies the very essence of The New Renaissance vision of healthier people creating a healthier world. Without patient education, your patients won't "get it." To learn more about The New Renaissance, contact world headquarters at 800-525-3879.)