Chasing symptoms

Dear Patient,

Recently I was talking with a patient about her hip pain. It was pretty bad and she’d had it for a while, so she was making the commitment to go all in on non-surgical, drug-free interventions for several months before exploring more invasive options. Acupuncture, chiropractic, massage—she was doing it all before considering hip replacement surgery.

And then she talked about her family - about how joint problems run in the family, and how several older family members had needed hip replacements, and how she makes different choices with her health. This commitment to go all in on less invasive treatments was really about the desire to stop chasing physical symptoms. Because she knew: her hip pain was connected to her emotions.

It’s easy to fall into the trap of symptom-chasing. We just want to feel better. A needle here, a pill there, an incision somewhere, and the pain goes away. But when we chase symptoms, we miss the opportunity for the kind of healing that’s complicated and protracted and painful and life-changing. Symptom-chasing isn’t healing, it’s hustle.

Maybe my patient will still have stiff, aching hips after months of acupuncture and chiropractic and massage. Maybe she’ll end up choosing hip replacement surgery. But she’s making the choice right now to drop out of the unwinnable race of symptom-chasing. Instead, she's giving herself time and space to unearth whatever lies underneath all that physical pain. That’s true healing.

Love and gratitude,

Your Acupuncturist