Well, today I faced one of my biggest "what if" triggers. I went to the dentist. I worked in that field for 13 years, so I know all of the things some offices don't do right as far as infection control. I found my dentist and asked ALL of my questions before I even scheduled an appointment. Not only was the dentist totally wonderful, but so was his staff. They did everything the way I would do it myself as far as I cuold tell. The staff and dentist were very open to any questions and really took their time. I will definitely recommend him to my friends! I have to go back for either a large filling or crown on one of my molars, (very old filling in it is breaking away), but I am not really nervous about it because I am comfortable with him and his staff. The only downside is that he isn't a participating dentist for my dental plan, so the out of pocket expenses are more and here in my area crowns are quite expensive. I just hope my husband isn't upset when he finds out how much it will cost if it does need a crown. I feel it is worth the extra cost, (and we can afford it), to have someone who does good work, and I am comfortable with.
Good job!, wow ...looks like you had good reason to have anticipitory anxiety. You had experience in the dental field so it was based on FACT yet you pushed through it anyways. Most of the time our fears aren't based in fact at all and it's hard enough to push through THOSE but yours?...high 5!
Thank you for your response. Though my fears were based on actual facts, I still blew everything out of proportion. For me, my fears are mostly based on medical fears. I have a big fear of "catching something" if I have any real procedure done. I am fine having a checkup at the doctor unless it is invasive. Then, I am a basket case. Not out of fear of pain like most people, but fear of catching some actual disease. I tend to overblow actual concerns and make them worse. Then, I can't just let it go. I went in with a different attitude this morning. Luckily, my anxiety level the last couple of days has been very low, so it was a good week to go. I even went to the mall afterward in downtown Las Vegas. I had a very adventuresome day!
Oh, and my husband didn't care about the cost. I think he is just glad I am not worrying about the visit with him as I usually do. For once, I was excited about finding someone I trust.
Well, I made ith through my second dental visit. I had to get an old filling replaced. It may have even turned into a crown, but we got away with just a big filling. Of course, I still was a little nervous and with my germ phobias, I still seft with a minute amount of anxiety over that aspect. I handled it though by asking how something was disenfected, (something that couldn't have been heat sterilized). I ended up having to ask the receptionist to find out for me because the dental assistant and dentist had moved into another room by the time I thought I better ask, (of I would obsess about it). All in all I handled it better than I expected.
