April 2002

Practice Boredom and Anxiety

by R. J. Hammett, D.C.

 Dr. Hammett is a chiropractor in private practice in Kenosha, Wisconsin. After graduating from Life College in 1979, he completed several post-graduate programs in Physical Impairments, Diagnostic Imaging and Rehabilitation. He completed his Juris Doctor in 1995. He has written articles for several Journals and has lectured to numerous Chiropractic groups on the topics of Practice Management and Risk Prevention.

The months following the holidays and the first of the year, for many chiropractors fall into two categories; boredom or anxiety, sometimes a lot of both. Boredom from another year, or a reflection of last years, not hitting your goals (you did have written goals??). Anxiety from everything from staff to patients, to insurance companies, ad nauseum.

            First boredom:  Boredom is a symptom that somethings a miss on the level of the soul. It announces a crisis of the soul that deserves attention and care. At anytime you are bored,

you must really pay attention to the inner you. (The innate you.) Boredom is corrected when a loss of time and self are experienced. For example, children at play are an example of time out of mind. Think back when you were small and the times when you were totally absorbed. What did it feel like? Many books have been written about playing in the “zone.”  The zone is a transcendence, the “self” disappears, there is no ego, no conscious self to be bored. For most of us, meaningful work or purpose creates transcendence in our lives. Check yourself; are you bored because you’ve found

your work, or chiropractic becoming meaningless? Has the day in, day out grind caused you to focus on the wrong parts of your day? Just what are you doing everyday?

            To free yourself from the bonds of boredom, you must first experience loss of time and sense. The high volume chiropractors of the past were famous for losing time and sense when in the office concentrating on correcting the subluxations they found.  Notice I did not say concentrating on the patients, they acknowledged the patient’s needs. But their focus was lost in the correction of the subluxation. Check yourself on the next five patients. Where is your mind at each patient interaction? Listening to symptoms? Writing notes? Thinking about your hobbies? Just where is your mind? In transcendence, the ego is gone, the self disappears, there is no conscious self to be bored, only the grace of being as a being. After checking yourself, on your following 5 patients, concentrate fully on only finding and correcting the subluxation. See how you feel. Refresh your soul. Rededicate yourself to finding and correcting subluxations, read good books, watching great films and enjoying the arts can lead you closer to the zone. To know if you are in the zone is easy to determine. A glance at your watch or a clock is a sure sign you are not in the zone, and have failed to capture the soul’s attention. If this persists for a long time, boredom is not far away.

            Anxiety:  Searching beneath the feeling of anxiety, you will find fear. Beneath fear, you will find hurt. Beneath the hurt, you will find guilt. Beneath guilt will be found rage and hatred. But do not stop with this, for beneath the rage lies frustrated desire.  Finally, beneath and beyond desires is love. Anxiety at the level just above love is frustrated desires. Get your paper and pen out, list all the

frustrations you experienced in 2001, both in the practice and at home. Within this list, you will find the true cause of your anxiety, it’s probably not what you think. To clean up any anxiety is to recognize the fact that love is the underlying emotion. Something you love is causing you anxiety and stress. Confront and deal with any frustrations head-on. Speak to the person causing it. Re-think your yearly and life’s goals. Focus on what you want to do, not what you don’t want.

            When you’re stuck in boredom or aggravated by anxieties, re-read this article. Put it somewhere around your desk to remind yourself, and by all means, share it with your staff.

            ‘till next time. . .