January honestly truly gave me an opportunity to be BRAVE.... four opportunities to be exact. I have been terrified of the dentist my entire life. When I tell people that the dentist frightens me most people chalk up my comment to something along the lines of "isn't everyone?". They aren't being mean; they just don't realise how much of a fear it is for me. Sleepless nights for a week before the appointment, a racing heart, not being able to catch my breath, trembling, feeling physically sick.  My blood pressure actually sky rockets. Once I am there, i have to sit on my hands in the waiting room to stop myself running out and even once I am in the room, my dentist has to coax me into the chair.

With having to attend so many appointments in such a short space of time, I knew that I needed to find a way to better deal with this fear. Previously I have used a combination of calming herbal remedies and a scripture or two but I needed more.  If you have read my January review, you will know that one of the books I started reading in January was The Power of I Am. At the moment I am only about half way through  but the book is all about how we think and the impact of what we say to ourselves has on us.  I realized that by continuously going over in my head how scared I am, that I am giving those thoughts more power, like I am reinforcing them and my fears.


I began rewording my thoughts. When fear started to creep in I intentionally acknowledged the thought and rephrased the wording. I am so scared became I feel scared but I know that I can ask the dentist to stop whenever I need him to.  This took practice and consistency and it didn't stop the fear but it did make a difference.

On the 9th of March I am booked in to have my wisdom tooth out so this practice will be an ongoing one for me...but retraining my thoughts has a larger application and is something that I will continue to do in all areas of my life as we move through the year and most likely, for all my years ahead.

Have you been in any situations where you have had to focus on changing how you think? I would love to hear more about it.