reason may be hardwired and bio- logical, while it is also based on how we are brought up in Western soci- ety. Regardless of the reasoning, the way men process their feelings can become problematic when a man’s health is compromised. Essentially, a man with the same set of symptoms as a woman is far more likely to ignore them. Sometimes it’s that he feels he needs to “suck it up and be a man about it.” Sometimes it’s a sacrifice kind of thing for the benefit of family or others. Sometimes it’s the physical challenge of endur- ance. The bottom line is it’s harder for a man to accept and deal with a physical challenge, let alone seek and receive help for it. This complicates attaining and maintaining wellness. When a person first begins to experience “dis-ease,” the body, mind and spirit begin to supply subtle hints that something is wrong. Sometimes it is a slight pain that comes and goes. On other oc- casions it is an emotional or spiritual malaise. The tendency is to ignore these first messages and try to push through the symptoms and/or feelings. While it seems that there is no apparent urgency to immediately ad- dress the issue and detect the cause of the problem, men will typically try and wall off the symptoms with a pill or nosode and not search for cause in the early symptomatic stages of a problem. The body’s response is to try and accommodate and compensate for the imbalance. The cause, how- ever, has not been addressed, so the problem will continue its degenerative chronic aspect. The cause insidiously continues to fester, until the moment when the problem area is directly as- saulted again. Now the problem is be- yond walling off and must be treated. The physical, mental and emotional
Chiropractic Male Psyche
N
AND THE
by Harlan Sparer
o doubt about it, men pro- cess information and feelings differently than women. The
cable reason. His original problem has become a nightmare and will take much longer to mend, with competent chiropractic care.
cost has radically increased, and treat- ment is far more complex. For example, a man in his late 30s is using a pick on some hard dirt in his garden in order to dig a hole to plant a tree. His back is stiff for a few days, but he takes some ibuprofen. After several more days of stiffness his back feels tolerably better but never quite right. One night, years later, he is lifting his son out of the crib while he’s exhausted and is in incredible pain for what seems like an inexpli-
Education and attitude adjust- ment are the keys to preventative care. Listening to the body when it tells us something is how we can honor ourselves and our loved ones, so we can continue to provide for them in the best way possible. Being attentive to comments by those around us can clue us in to what we have been wall- ing off. Often, others will notice that something is not right and tell us. We should listen more effectively. Having a trustworthy chiropractor check out your well-being on occasion is a great tool as well. Sadly, we were never provided with an owner’s manual for our bodies. We need to learn to rely on our friends and family more for in- sight and be willing to seek help from others.
Dr. Harlan Sparer, a Wholistic Chiro- practor, has limited his practice in Tempe to the Directional Non Force Technique (DNFT) for 30 years. More information is available at his website,
TempeNonForce.com or by phoning him at 480-245-7894. He offers free consultations. See ad on page 21.
Age is an issue of mind over matter. If you don’t mind, it doesn’t matter.
~Mark Twain
June 2010
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