Hi Hugs: yes, quite right....therein lies my struggle, burying the negative with the positive and believing it. I need a bigger shovel, or I need to shovel smartly with belief.
Hi Davit and Hugs: Yes, acceptance. That's it. Acceptance that sometimes I get nervous about going for BP evaluation. So, big deal, let's do it and get it over with. It's just another day. If I get nervous, so what? I couldn't care less because I do my BP readings at home and bring them in to show my doc. and they are all good and she knows. So it might take some more time before I don't feel like this before an appt., that's o.k. too.
Your friend, Sunny
p.s. but deep down inside I wish they would be good at the office too! aha, there is the real truth.
It's called acceptance. Along with knowing panic can't hurt and that a certain amount of anxiety and panic is normal goes a long way to stop either from becoming attacks.
I was thinking about the self-perpetuating panic cycle when you mentioned how your BP would rise.
When we become overly concerned with our physical symptoms, it can feed our anxiety. This can spiral. What I've tried to tell myself is that I'd like to become "comfortable with being uncomfortable". One helpful suggestion was that it's okay to be anxious, and it's normal. When we resist that some uneasiness is unacceptable, and our "fear goggles" magnify our physical symptoms, the spiral starts to affect us, and we lose our focus on daily and normal activities.
I can break the cycle with coaching and using thought records so I can feel grounded. With BP measurements, I dropped from daily to weekly measurements.
Incidently, with my cholesterol, my GP states mine is naturally so low, it's like I have liquid Lipitor in my blood! His is many times higher.
Hi Hugs: you mean hypervigilance? Actually it is a lot of anticipatory anxiety for me - just getting dressed knowing where I'm going to have BP checked starts the anticipatory anxiety, even though I don't have panic attacks anymore, the thought, "oh, it's going to go high" pops up right away. I try and relax by box breathing, visualizations, relaxation before going, but....it still happens. No one would know looking at me, it's all inside. I don't fear going, I don't mind sitting there, I like conversing with someone if we are sitting together, even having a joke or two. I'm friendly and look quite calm. I've even accepted the fact that it will go high and said to myself, who cares, doctor knows this is what happens and makes a joke about it, so who cares. Haven't found my answer yet. Still putting lots of positive thoughts on top of the ol' negative one. I figure at least I still look after myself and go and get it checked regularly and take good care of myself.
Hi Hugs: Yes, wish the diet and exercise route worked for me. I'm careful with my diet, no salt, etc. and I used to be a fitness instructor even with my BP problems. I was slim and not overweight, but still had high BP. I was considered athletic and in good shape, even my doc. came to the gym and I had to weigh and measure her! We laughed because it was a real role reversal. Good luck on your BP program.
I think I am conditioned to expect BP to be high when I go to the clinic. I try not to worry about it, but of course just the mere fact that I think about it, keeps the negative thought there. Well, gotta keep working at it.
It's funny because I always have a lower BP at the doc! I put cotton in my ears the last time though...they had some loud music playing and I was getting irritated...you know how some people crank up the radio each time they hear something they like?
Then again, I haven't calibrated my BP monitor since I was given it by my generous doc(and the entrepreneurial pharmaceutical companies who have a vested interest in our using their drugs for life - I lowered my BP by exercise, diet and am determined to do my part to get my BP so low that maybe I won't need the meds! ).
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