Petunia's, and Peanut Butter

Sometimes people don’t take me seriously. It’s a touch frustrating that I spent a lot of time wasting time in college and didn’t figure it out in time. I should’ve gone to medical school. I majored in Dance because I loved the way the human body moved through space. I loved watching it curve, and bend, and snap into lines and shapes that are mind blowing. It was never just dance for me. I wasn’t as good as some, but I loved every minute of it, and I desperately attempted to conquer fears to make my body do what I saw all the really good dancers doing. I should’ve done a pre-med program instead. Typically I wouldn’t be typing this, I’d be reading a medical journal online. Yes, I read them for fun. Lately I’ve been focused on gene therapy, and genetic mutations. I'd bother you with the details, but there's a reason I'm up reading them and you've chosen not to. That's ok. What frustrates me is when I have people around me who disregard what I do, and what I know. I understand that they're not doing it on purpose. For some it's because they can't get past the eccentric artsy punk who took ballet and had flames painted into her hair. For others it's that they don't know that Massage Therapy covers a very wide range of modalities (styles) and can treat a rather large variety of issues. There are also people who have no idea that I read pathology books for fun, run through symptoms with my favorite med student, and love solving puzzles. The rest of them; I couldn't honestly say why they don't talk me about what's going on. They probably want to keep their medical issues private, and are embarrassed about them. I get that. Which is why I rarely quote clients by name, and if I do it has more to do with a funny story about something completely unrelated to medical anything (except my pregnancy. there were a lot of good quotes that came out of that.). I get a little confused when people hold back on medical issues. I get that we don't want to air our dirty laundry. I appreciate that I don't see a million complaints about health in my Facebook news feed. I would LOVE if when it DOES come up in conversation you give me more than "Oh I had this medical thing I had to take care of."…. which was. . . don't leave me hanging! If you'd rather talk to me privately let me know. Just don't hand me a tantalizing sneak peek like that and not finish the story! There is very little I feel more frustrated about than a medical teaser. Probably as close to a man's frustration with a female tease as I will ever experience. I spend the next YEARS of my life trying to sort through behaviors, chronic holding patters, personality fluctuations, buzzwords you've dropped, and anything else I can to figure out what you could possibly be dealing with. Just tell me! The people brave enough to divulge the symptoms, or condition to me know that I almost instantly start running through every piece of medical reference material I can get my hands on legally. I will lose sleep over the whole thing while I try to sort through the situation. They can also attest to the fact that I didn't tell anyone. Frankly I was too busy being nose deep in a book, or dealing with my children to have anyone to tell. I haven't been out of the house for anything social in 6 months. Just groceries, and essentials, and church, and the occasional family event (which usually consists of me doing exactly what I do at home. tending my children). I probably seem rather intense to people when they meet me in public. Like the over eager middle aged single woman who's desperate to get married, and on her first date in 4 years. So really, who am I going to tell?! My husband? Pretty sure I have a long list of house hold matters I need to discuss with Him first. I won't get to your issues this year, and by next year I'll have forgotten to tell Him. But no really, the family budget, the children, and the insane electrical system in my house are first in line before YOUR medical issues. Which He'd find so boring that He wouldn't be listening so He'd be totally confused and wouldn't know if you had the flu, or a genetic mutation giving you super powers. The point is that because I find all this so interesting, and I have things I can usually do to help you treat the situation I get frustrated with the lack of information, or consultations. Believe me, if I can't help you I will refer you to someone I think has better information. There are people who can vouch for that too. I've been a disappointing answer to a few people's questions when I refer them out to someone who's had a similar situation, or just another person with an actual degree in medicine. It doesn't mean I didn't know, but I DIDN'T go to medical school. I got a degree in dance. I can't diagnose. I can just guess, ask you to confirm with your doctor, and then wish I'd bet someone $100 on whether I was right. Like I said. I should've gone for pre-med. Occupational Therapy would't have been a bad choice either. I also know that sometimes Doctors lose themselves in the work. They get in a rut, and get lost in the routine of sick people. Then they happen upon something interesting and they can't quite figure it out. While they're running tests and trying to track down the culprit other symptoms pop up because YOU'RE despondent about the situation. Yeah I know, crazy right? You actually confuse the doctor because you create symptoms in your body unrelated to the illness because of YOUR emotional state. I'm telling you the body is amazing! It's also crazy effected by itself. Everything is connected. I say that a lot to my clients in regards to tissue. It applies to the systems as well. Your muscles effect your posture, which effects your nervous system, which effects your endocrine system, which effects your gastrointestinal system, which effects your posture. . . it's kind of a cycle. Your mental state effects your Physical state. We can believe in a placebo effect, but we can't grasp that our emotions are adding symptoms to our situation that are making it harder for the doctor to figure out what's going on. This is where I come in. I get to help you remove some of the stuff that is getting in the way. I pull the posture back into alignment, release hormones that encourage the good things to get back to being good, and remove the emotions ( albeit sometimes only temporarily) that were getting in the way of the REAL diagnosis. Sometimes I get lucky and I get to fix the situation entirely. Other times it just becomes easier to deal with all the poking and scanning, and stabbing they do at the doctors office. Either way, I'm a good ear to listen to. I've got a fairly logical head on my shoulders and I'm not too shabby and understanding actual medical jargon. I even like it. I know people write me off as a luxury type thing. A "day at the spa" profession. I'm not that therapist. I do MEDICAL massage. emphasis on MEDICAL. Meaning that what I do is medicine for the body. AND IT WORKS!!! Like, really works. Scientific studies works. Medically endorsed works. I don't smear lotion on people. I assist in their wellness. Wellness as in not sick anymore. It's foreign concept I know. I spent time in Europe where Massage Therapists are taken seriously. It's a form of medicine. It works. Most people where I currently live wouldn't get it. I do. I bothered to learn, and I get real tired of reminding people that I'm a resource. I will help you if I can. If it's outside my scope of practice I will honestly, and happily refer you to someone I think is better qualified. Just please stop thinking that I smear lotion on people. Please stop thinking that I don't know how to help. Please, for the love of the human body, and all that is magnificent about it . . . Just ask me!!!! end rant.