“Um… can I talk to you in private for a minute?” A patient asks me as she gestures toward the exam room.

“Of course, what’s going on?” I ask as I close the door behind us.

This scenario happens a few times a week. But recently the conversation has been taking an unexpected turn. The patient says:

“I can move my knee much more than I could before and there  is no  pain… is that ok?”

or

“I had a huge emotional break through in one of my relationships. I now feel great, but I had to call my therapist immediately, because when it happened I didn’t know what to do.”

Recently people seem to be especially freaked out by the healing they are experiencing. People have been needing more assurance that it’s safe, it’s OK, (it’s even good!) that they are experiencing decreased  pain and fewer symptoms.

I think people need assurance right now because the world feels especially unstable. Healing is a form of change. And that can be really destabilizing. Even when it’s positive change, even when it’s the change you were seeking with chiropractic care—change can be scary when the world around you doesn’t feel stable or safe.

Graduate school was a time of real instability for me. I was in San Francisco– far away from my home and the strong social ties I have in Chicago. I had made a huge career and identity change. I was an economic consultant in New York before I gave up my corporate life, and all the security and accolades that came with it, to pursue some crazy dream of becoming an alternative healer. It was a period of a lot of unmoored uncertainty for me.

During that period my chiropractor told me that my body and my life did not have the structure or foundation I needed for major healing to occur. He was working with my body to create stability and structure, that I needed that far more than I needed major healing and even more change. The Type-A Go Getter in me was furious that he was suggesting I couldn’t do all the things and do them better than anyone else. But the part of me that was scared and alone, knew he saw me and my needs on a far deeper level.

At Chiropractic First, we apply those same principles of healing. We are aware that sometimes healing is scary. And sometimes you need us to help you create stability, not change. But if your body, and your life are changing, it’s because you are ready for it!

If you are concerned about any of the healing you are experiencing, please let us know! We’d be happy to help you understand it better. And if you are freaked out about the upcoming election, and the world in general, come  get adjusted. We’ll help you find the peace and stability in your body.