Monday, August 7, 2017

The tact and grace of an inside joke.

I seem to mention at least every other blog or so, "mom guilt". It is a soul crushing distraction from all the other great things we have to be stressed and freaking out about. In my opinion, building a community based on inclusion and "laughing through the chaos" is one of the best ways to combat "mom guilt"

So what on earth does an inside joke have to do with chiropractic, pregnancy, fertility, or ketogenesis? Everything. Have you ever been so stressed out that you focused in on a doughnut until it was in your mouth. Have you ever been so tired or out of it that you missed an entire conversation someone was trying to have with you? Have you ever caught yourself looking at facebook on your phone while facebook is also open on the computer in front of you? These are symptoms of overwhelm; and they are part of the problem.

We, as humans, are meant for social interaction. We hug, we kiss, and for those of us who are really uncomfortable with physical touch, we have great intimacy in sharing the mundane tiny details and simply speaking to other people.

When we talk about inside jokes, the beauty and simplicity of the comment is that there's no necessary depth before the event comes to fruition. We have inside jokes with people we've only met a few times. To say to a person, "Remember that one time..." even if it was the first time, is no less valuable. An inside joke artificially (and then, of course, genuinely) increases intimacy. We want people to remember us. We don't all want to be the star of the show, but when you meet someone  for the second or third time and they remember something you were wearing or something you said, it makes us feel as if that person values that memory.

So, if you are tired of being home with babies, and you are looking for a mom group or a scheduled event for kids and moms alike, seek out the women that remember you. Those women are the goodies, the ones who pay attention, and the ones who are more likely to laugh at life with you, instead of chastising every decision you make.

The art of the inside joke takes the edge off of what could be a painful reintroduction to society. In general I think we could all stand to laugh a little more.

Recently I was asked, "What do you want to do with your life?" And I said, "I want to make people laugh." Can chiropractic make people laugh? Absolutely. If we know that the brain is speaking to the body and the body is speaking to the brain, and that person is "working on all cylinders" then we know that no matter what happens, they will be adapting to whatever life throws at them better.

A quick story to round out this pretty light post:
**This was told to me by a professor in Chiropractic School**

A man came into the clinic for low back pain. He brought his daughter with him. He didn't speak much, and his clothes were often dirty, and over all he seemed like a pretty angry man. After the first phase of his care plan ended he told the doctor he wouldn't be coming back. The little girl started crying. The doctor asked, "Are you not feeling better? Are we not getting the results you anticipated?" To which the patient said, "I feel much better, but I don't have pain any more so I'm not going to come in anymore." The doctor turned to the little girl and asked if she'd noticed any differences in her father since he'd started care. The daughter said, "Since he started chiropractic care he doesn't hit me anymore. I'm afraid if he stops he'll start hitting me again."

1. We can not down play the effect of the adjustment on the brain.
2. We can not down play the effect of dysfunction on behavior.
3. We can not pretend that "pushing through" issues has no effect on children.

Laugh more. Live better.

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