kitkat
Super Moderator
Staff member
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2006
- Messages
- 1,568
- Location
- United States
Hi everyone,
So at this point in time, I consider myself in the final stages of getting over my dental fear but one thing I cannot seem to get under control is the physical symptoms and I have no idea what to do about them! they are soo frustrating! This morning, I went for a consultation on a tooth because I broke a filling. My dentist ended up asking me if she could fill it right then which caught me a little off guard but I have a good relationship with her and I was ok with it. I was quite calm in my mind, I could even talk with her and her staff without a problem, but I had recurring episodes that lasted a few minutes at a time where my body was kicked into high-gear "fight or flight" mode completely out of my control and was working against me through the entire appointment. It actually got particularly worse in stages where nothing was happening such as waiting in the waiting room and waiting in the dental chair but as soon as the dentist started treatment or wanted to talk with me, my body seemed to surrender and relax a bit and I was calm both in mind and body.
I seem to be reacting more to the environment than to the people in the environment which is probably a good thing! But seriously, this time it was so bad, the recurrent "fight or flight" adrenaline surges almost caused me to faint during treatment. I got really dizzy during drilling (the thing I fear most hence causing an adrenaline surge) and then I got really disoriented and things got blurry and dim for a couple seconds and then I seemed to start breathing more deeply and slowly and things came back into focus. That was the first time I've almost fainted. I was shaking so bad in the waiting room/chair it was obvious and the more I tried to hide it, the more noticeable I think it became. I tried everything to seize it, fidgeting it out, wrapping myself up in my arms and legs in an attempt to hold myself still, visualisation, meditation ...nothing works!
Just before the exam I was shaking up a storm and I thought "there is no way she is going to be able to see in my mouth. I'm shaking so bad that I can't even sit still!" So she came over to look at the tooth and an amazing thing happened...the shakes STOPPED, my body completely relaxed. The only time the shaking stopped was oddly, during treatment, exam, or talking with the dentist...the same event which is CAUSING the shaking...it makes no sense! I guess it's nice to know the dentist's presence is lessening the symptoms rather than worsening them but I really don't know what to do. How do you keep your brain from firing off an automatic fear response when your mind is quite at ease for the majority of the event? Has anyone else experienced this, where the physical fear symptoms were even worse than the fear or I am just crazy? And why is it that I'm only calm WITH the dentist...clearly she's not what I fear...could it just be the environment that I'm reacting to? If so, how can I change the reaction? I don't know what to do, I've been dealing with this for quite a few years now and can't really figure it out...
Kitkat
So at this point in time, I consider myself in the final stages of getting over my dental fear but one thing I cannot seem to get under control is the physical symptoms and I have no idea what to do about them! they are soo frustrating! This morning, I went for a consultation on a tooth because I broke a filling. My dentist ended up asking me if she could fill it right then which caught me a little off guard but I have a good relationship with her and I was ok with it. I was quite calm in my mind, I could even talk with her and her staff without a problem, but I had recurring episodes that lasted a few minutes at a time where my body was kicked into high-gear "fight or flight" mode completely out of my control and was working against me through the entire appointment. It actually got particularly worse in stages where nothing was happening such as waiting in the waiting room and waiting in the dental chair but as soon as the dentist started treatment or wanted to talk with me, my body seemed to surrender and relax a bit and I was calm both in mind and body.
I seem to be reacting more to the environment than to the people in the environment which is probably a good thing! But seriously, this time it was so bad, the recurrent "fight or flight" adrenaline surges almost caused me to faint during treatment. I got really dizzy during drilling (the thing I fear most hence causing an adrenaline surge) and then I got really disoriented and things got blurry and dim for a couple seconds and then I seemed to start breathing more deeply and slowly and things came back into focus. That was the first time I've almost fainted. I was shaking so bad in the waiting room/chair it was obvious and the more I tried to hide it, the more noticeable I think it became. I tried everything to seize it, fidgeting it out, wrapping myself up in my arms and legs in an attempt to hold myself still, visualisation, meditation ...nothing works!
Just before the exam I was shaking up a storm and I thought "there is no way she is going to be able to see in my mouth. I'm shaking so bad that I can't even sit still!" So she came over to look at the tooth and an amazing thing happened...the shakes STOPPED, my body completely relaxed. The only time the shaking stopped was oddly, during treatment, exam, or talking with the dentist...the same event which is CAUSING the shaking...it makes no sense! I guess it's nice to know the dentist's presence is lessening the symptoms rather than worsening them but I really don't know what to do. How do you keep your brain from firing off an automatic fear response when your mind is quite at ease for the majority of the event? Has anyone else experienced this, where the physical fear symptoms were even worse than the fear or I am just crazy? And why is it that I'm only calm WITH the dentist...clearly she's not what I fear...could it just be the environment that I'm reacting to? If so, how can I change the reaction? I don't know what to do, I've been dealing with this for quite a few years now and can't really figure it out...
Kitkat