Crushing it at the Dentist
Several years ago, I started to do things which scared me. It was reactionary. I had five miscarriage. I lost my daughter. Normally an easy going person, my anxiety levels went through the roof. I thought, "You need to start doing things that scare you, or you're never going to leave the house again. And since everything was scary, like I had panic attacks in Walmart, scary, I figured I might as well do the really big stuff too.
Doing things anyway, despite being afraid to do them, has led to a lot less fear in general. It's sort of a fake it 'til you make it proposition. Gradually, I've come to realize that there isn't much which scares me at all anymore. Life is short. Nothing is promised. Go out and do stuff and I have.
But there was still one place which I'd ignored. Because, hey, I'm an adult and I could. I hate to go to the dentist and by hate, I mean I'm terrified. It's never not been painful. I sometimes have a strong gag reflex. They have to remind me to relax about 500 times. It's never been a good experience for me. The first time I went, my mom read me Hansel and Gretel in the waiting room, which freaked me out. Then I bit the dentist. On the way home, I threw up in the car. It was awful and it never really got much better (although I did stay away from Grimm's Fairy Tales for a while).
I've had multiple dentists. I've done deep breathing and meditation.Listened to music. I've made anagrams from the name of the manufacturer on the crazy bright light. Nothing made it better.
Today, I went to the dentist for the first time, in I'm embarrassed to tell you how long. The dentist was a nice guy. His hygienist was super patient with me and also a cute dude, so that was a plus. It wasn't a radically different experience than I've had before though.
"What brings you in today?" the dentist asked.
I told him I had a fairly high level of dental anxiety, that I was trying to cope with head on.
"The hardest step is walking through the door," he said, and I think he's right.
It's true that I was long overdue for a cleaning and that unsurprisingly, he discovered a bunch of other issues which need to be fixed. But those really weren't the reasons I went. The dentist is one of the few things I'm still afraid of. I don't want to not do things because they scare me and it was time to deal with this one.
I am in the process of making a lot of changes in my life. Some of them are really difficult. I'm wandering into some uncharted life territory and there are an awful lot of unknowns. (Those changes are blog posts in themselves and we will get there eventually, my friends). For now, all you need know is that I'm working every day on making my life better and making myself better. More so lately than in a long time.
As I left the dentist's office this morning, I knew facing this particular fear had been the right call. Well, damn, if I can manage this, I can navigate ANYTHING! Go ahead, see if I don't.
Doing things anyway, despite being afraid to do them, has led to a lot less fear in general. It's sort of a fake it 'til you make it proposition. Gradually, I've come to realize that there isn't much which scares me at all anymore. Life is short. Nothing is promised. Go out and do stuff and I have.
But there was still one place which I'd ignored. Because, hey, I'm an adult and I could. I hate to go to the dentist and by hate, I mean I'm terrified. It's never not been painful. I sometimes have a strong gag reflex. They have to remind me to relax about 500 times. It's never been a good experience for me. The first time I went, my mom read me Hansel and Gretel in the waiting room, which freaked me out. Then I bit the dentist. On the way home, I threw up in the car. It was awful and it never really got much better (although I did stay away from Grimm's Fairy Tales for a while).
I've had multiple dentists. I've done deep breathing and meditation.Listened to music. I've made anagrams from the name of the manufacturer on the crazy bright light. Nothing made it better.
Today, I went to the dentist for the first time, in I'm embarrassed to tell you how long. The dentist was a nice guy. His hygienist was super patient with me and also a cute dude, so that was a plus. It wasn't a radically different experience than I've had before though.
"What brings you in today?" the dentist asked.
I told him I had a fairly high level of dental anxiety, that I was trying to cope with head on.
"The hardest step is walking through the door," he said, and I think he's right.
It's true that I was long overdue for a cleaning and that unsurprisingly, he discovered a bunch of other issues which need to be fixed. But those really weren't the reasons I went. The dentist is one of the few things I'm still afraid of. I don't want to not do things because they scare me and it was time to deal with this one.
I am in the process of making a lot of changes in my life. Some of them are really difficult. I'm wandering into some uncharted life territory and there are an awful lot of unknowns. (Those changes are blog posts in themselves and we will get there eventually, my friends). For now, all you need know is that I'm working every day on making my life better and making myself better. More so lately than in a long time.
As I left the dentist's office this morning, I knew facing this particular fear had been the right call. Well, damn, if I can manage this, I can navigate ANYTHING! Go ahead, see if I don't.
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