Originally published on LinkedIn.
I was at my dentist appointment. It was only for a cleaning and yet I realized that anxiety was starting to bubble up! Now I do not fear the dentist at all, but I do find that my childhood anxiety surfaces. The moment the equipment starts to buzz, I was thrown back to that time in my life. Back in the day things were painful and I can understand my anxiety. Of course, I am lucky.
I do know techniques to control and remove fear or anxiety. I will share two in this article. But first, the reason that I thought to write it. As I sat in the dental chair, I could hear conversations between the dentist and the other patients.
Woman’s voice cam over the mid-wall, “I’m only letting you do this because I like you. I’m scared. You will be careful, right?”
Man’s voice was on my other side, “No, I don’t think so. I’m really afraid it will hurt. I know you’ll numb everything; I can’t help it.” I could hear the quiver in his voice. Wow!
Is this you? Scared, anxious? Do you put off your appointments or don’t go at all? Save your teeth! Below are two things you can do now! It might be all you need.
The one piece of advice my clients hear all the time is belly breathing. Breath slow and deep. So deep that your belly rises. This type of breathing fills the lowest lobes of your lungs. The effect is your body automatically calms.
Check how you breathe. If it is high, chest breaths you are preparing your body for fight or flight. As you tense the air comes faster and only fills the top sections of your lungs. You raise your anxiety level when you do this. So, practice belly breathing. Do it when you are not anxious and when you need it this way of breathing will be easy and perhaps automatic.
Another great way to relax is simple self-hypnosis. I also share this with my hypnosis clients during their first session. Here is the first step. Create an affirmation and say it to yourself at the top two times for connecting with your unconscious.
First, the affirmation. A positive sentence that is written in the present tense – as if it has already happened. It is…I am…I have…
“At the dentist, I am always calm and relaxed.” This is an example you can use or create one of your own. Everyone is different
The absolute best time to repeat this is before you fall asleep and when you just wake up. Repeat your affirmation ten times at each of these perfect times. Repeat it when you think about the dentist and start to feel anxiety. Do it as you belly breathe and drive to the dentist.
Picture yourself being smiling and comfortable while in the dental chair. I hope these tips are all you need. If not, a deeper hypnosis session can help. Remember, these exercises can help all types of anxiety. Not just the common fear of dentists.
Keridak Silk, MS – Certified Consulting Hypnotist, Life Coach & Author.