Nothing helps my anxiety

[lrcrow]

This year is the worst for my anxiety, and the pandemic hasn't helped. I dreaded my checkup for literally 6 months, that is, since my last one in March. Sure enough, they just said I need some significant work.

I am presently on two anxiety medications. I am having the procedure done under anesthesia. A year ago, I had other work done under anesthesia, and it went fine. My procedure is three weeks away. All of this positive stuff, yet I'M STILL ANXIOUS AS HELL!

I don't know what else can be done, I just don't want to spend every minute of every day in constant worry and anxiety for the next three weeks. Is there something more that will help me?

 

[Enarete]

Hi Ircrow,

sorry to read about your anxiety. It sounds like this year gave you a difficult time and with the pandemic, this is understandable.

It is not unusual to still be scared of treatment even if you had a positive experience and even more so if it was general anesthesia. As convenient as GA is, it does not help much with the anxiety as such. I would say being anxious as hell is what makes you a person with dental fear and what made you decide for GA in the first place.

Is there anything particular that makes you anxious when it comes to the upcoming procedure? And is there anything particular that usually helps you to get through when you have anxiety?

 

[lrcrow]

I'm guessing it's fear of the unknown. I know that is why I fear my checkups so far in advance: will they find something that needs fixing?

I can't think of anything that helps me get through. I suppose that's why I'm here.

 

[Enarete]

So you are afraid that something unexpected may happen during the treatment under GA? That they find something that wasn't found during your check-up?

Everyone is different and what works for one person doesn't work for another. We have an article about relaxation techiques that can be used to calm down during the stage before an appointment. It is one of the things that work very generally so may be helpful.

My question about what usually helps was simply an appreciation of the fact that you are a complex and unique human being with your own history and preferences. It also sounds like you have been to the dentist before so this may not be the first time you are nervous. The time before an appointment sucks and in my experience it is more about finding out what you need in any given moment to be able to cope better. For some it's distraction, for some a hobby, for some it's about connecting to others and sharing their story, for some it's staying in bed all the day, for some it's talking to a therapist and for some it's something entirely different the most important part is to be aware that anxiety doesn't mean that something bad will actually happen and to stay kind to yourself. I hope the time up to your procedure passes quickly.

 

[lrcrow]

I guess I'm afraid I won't be completely "out" during the procedure, or that they'll wake me before it's totally finished. I don't know...my mind will find *something* to be anxious about, it seems. But really, most of my anxiety is about the waiting, the time between now and the procedure. It's like I want to get on with life, but "there's always something there to remind me" that I still have the procedure to get through. I guess I'll just try to stay busy and keep my mind off of the subject as much as I can.

 

[krlovesherkids777]

Hello lrcrow,


Just want to say , I see you and hear you and so get this anxiety too! Even when you know everything has been ok in the past, its still a new procedure , and I think the in between times can be soooo hard.. and anxiety producing. We are glad you are here to talk and vent, I 100% agree with Enarete on what all she has said. This also reminded me of a link that has some practical tips I found helpful for those in between times.. Hope it can be of some help to you too .

Did you finally make that dental appointment? - Defacto Dentists

nervous patient making dental appointment, fear of the dentist, scared to make a dental appointment, scared of the dentist,

www.defactodentists.com

I know I find too just writing here and journaling really helps me.. I'm cleaning my closets and finding some of my old dental journals of when I was so nervous and how I got through on the other end . Its nice to see hindsight

 

[lrcrow]

I'm beginning to feel like the anxiety has become its own entity, related to but separate from my upcoming procedure. Hard to explain exactly. Like I'm afraid of becoming anxious? Like it can leap out and attack me at any moment, even if I'm not thinking about dentistry at all. Anybody else ever feel like that, like there's anxiety about anxiety as well as anxiety about your procedure?

 

[Enarete]

Yes, and this is a very good observation. Anxiety is a bunch of things that happen within your body: your heart rate goes up, your blood pressure, you may feel discomfort in the stomach, generally feel weak or jittery, some people get sweaty hands etc., it's like your body behaving differently than when you feel normal.

These reactions are the same no matter what the reason for your anxiety is - if you look at yourself when you are nervous before giving a speech or before a date, those reactions would feel the same. Dental anxiety feels the same like any other anxiety. What is different are the thoughts, because we have different train of thoughts being preoccupied by the dentist than being worried about a first date.

My experience is that if you are preoccupied by something and deal with anxiety for a while, it can feel like an overall stress that is present on it's own. Needless to say, anxiety sucks and it is such an unpleasant state to be in - you can't focus, you feel not being your usual self, it's almost like having a flu but having to go on with daily tasks instead of resting. Some people suffer from high general anxiety which makes them feel this more often than others.

The most important part is to find out what can help you to distract yourself or simply getting through the time. There is nothing wrong with the anxiety, it's just super unpleasant, but not dangerous and not a prediction of how your visit will go. If you can, become friends with it, let it walk with you for a while. It works a bit better than fighting it and overanalyzing.

 

[lrcrow]

In the past, the amount of anxiety I experienced was directly proportional to the amount of time I spent thinking about the object of my fear. Less thinking = less anxiety. But this time, the anxiety seems to have a life of its own, regardless of what's on my mind. This is a new (and very unpleasant) experience for me, even though I have GAD.

The worst part is how it strikes almost every morning when I'm in the not-yet-awake-but-not-still-asleep state. Even with the medication in my system at full level, I will wake up with an anxiety attack no matter what my dreams or thoughts are about. This was happening earlier in the year at the start of the pandemic, but mostly went away over the summer. Now it's back. It may be because I have a high need for closure, and until my procedure is done, I won't have full closure. A nasty side effect is that I'm beginning to dread going to sleep. Not good.

 

[Enarete]

So you are having a stronger anxiety no matter what you think and this is different to what you have been used to. Sounds more than unpleasant. I am particularly sorry to read about you dreading going to sleep. Must be really tough. There is this forum: https://www.mentalhealthforum.net, they look a little like ours, but are there for any kinds of mental health issues, I was wondering whether you know them? There may be people who can give you support with the struggle around anxiety as such.

Sending you virtual hugs, hope things get better soon and most importantly may the time to your procedure pass soon so that you get the long awaited closure