Thank Goodness For the Hallway

Thank Goodness for the Hallway

When I was younger, and you may find this hard to believe, I had a habit of talking to my neighbor. Not necessarily the people who lived in the houses next to me, but those that sat next to me in a classroom. There was also this habit of answering questions out loud without raising my hand, and making remarks that seemed funny to many of those around me. Frankly, I could/can be some what of a “smart alec”. It’s a curse. I have been “shushed” or seen an index finger held to the pursed lips of a wide-eyed teacher more times than I can count. Generally, the punishment was to be banished from my peers, to either a corner or… the hallway. “You will stand there until I tell you to come back in.” By the time I was in 4th grade I was on a 1st name basis with the guidance counselor, one Mr. Bill Van Vohris, who introduced me to the concept of leadership. (More on this in another posting.)

My grades were A’s and B’s with little effort. My attendance was stellar. I loved school. I was a social creature. I had, however, this little issue with conduct. If my ranking for conduct on my report card was checked “Needs Improvement” I knew my seat was going to be “warmed-up” by a father who expected more of me. It happened more than once.

If I were today’s 4th grader, I’d be the poster boy for Ritalin, or any other of the psychotropic drugs being used to manage behavior. You see, apparently the hallway or the corner or parental pressure just doesn’t work anymore. Parents, teachers and school systems have resorted to ignoring their own advice, “Say No To Drugs” and are calling out the heavy artillery. They range from stimulants to anti-depressants to blood pressure medications. They are designed to alter behavior, and they do. Effects (not “side effects”) range from homicidal/suicidal tendencies to psychiatric problems. Does anyone else have a problem with, “Say no to drugs, but here take these.”? Of course, we do it with other symptoms, too. Headache? Take this. Stomach ache? Take this. Fever? Take this. You get the idea. Then we’re surprised when they reach for something to change the way they feel when their boyfriend breaks up with them or they don’t make the team.

In the wake of another school shooting, we all search for answers. “What’s wrong with people?”, is a common question. Some try to divert attention to the method of action and say guns are the problem. Rather than start a gun debate, let me share this. The common denominator in every school shooting is not just guns, but prescription psychotropic drugs. Read that again. Not race. Not socioeconomic status. Not weed or street drugs. Drugs prescribed to alter behavior are doing just that and it’s horrific. I’m not sure why that’s not hitting the evening news but it’s real. Does every medicated kid grab a weapon and commit a crime? No, but who knows your child better than you? Let’s talk sleep patterns, weight loss, drowsiness, dizziness, fear, headaches, agitation, confusion, convulsions, changes in skin, breathing difficulty, behavioral abnormalities, tics, blurry vision, muscle cramping. Are they experiencing a full and healthy life or being medicated to fit in and pass the test? At what other time in history have kids been so unwell?

Go to any school athletic event and play Count the Inhalers. Or, check with any school nurse as she makes her rounds for steroids, anti nausea, allergy, diabetes, blood pressure, cholesterol, anxiety etc. Actually, she stays put, the kids come to her. These used to be diseases reserved for senior citizens and now they’re part of back to school marketing in every pediatric office. Vaccine information is now on the tray saver sheets at McDonalds! If you think your kids aren’t being lead into a lifetime of sickness and disease management, think one more time. 

Here’s what’s real. You live your life through your nervous system. Sight, sound, taste, touch, and smell…all processed by the brain and spinal cord. Thoughts, feelings, emotion, creativity, chemistry, muscle movement, gut function,…same nervous system. Nerves carry information to and from the brain (at any age) and that’s what is keeping you from your funeral. This nervous system lives in your skull and spine, so damage there is not good. Spine pain, postural stress/distortion, numbness etc. aren’t the problem. They are, however, signals of a problem. 

The good news is there are ways to measure the function of the human nerve system. Safe non-invasive measures that reveal nerve stress are the most conservative and effective way to see if children are living with a clear system. The other good news is that we have this technology available in our office. Within 10 minutes you have a clear way of demonstrating the health of the system that runs all of your other life systems. The results are the ability to decide on a course of action that lets your child avoid a lifetime of symptom-chasing and the onset of their learning how to understand the signals their body gives them. Check your child’s posture. Is one shoulder higher than the other? Is their head centered over their shoulders? Does the left shoe wear out in a different pattern than the right? All signs of muscular imbalance that reveal nerve interference. If you have questions or comments, contact us. We can help.

Discipline, maybe even a little hallway time, and the willingness to do what it takes to address the cause of health issues is how we turn this crazy system around. “Just say no” takes on a whole new meaning when your goal is living well for a lifetime.