The Dentist

Just reading the word dentist has caused a shiver to run through me ever since I was a kid. I don’t know about you, but I’ve had hours and hours of drilling and extractions, and I’ve made my way through it, but it still causes me anxiety. It helps that my best friend is my dentist, so I trust his expertise, but that still doesn’t mean that those ancient fears go away.

My father had to have his teeth numbed before his dentist worked on him. I guess that I come from a family of dental chickens, but we don’t wear any feathers…. (that was an attempt at humor). Is it a family trait or a learned behavior?

In psychology, we try to discover the root of the problem. Is it something from genetics? From our environment, like the neighborhood, we grew up in? Was it from a head injury or substance use? Basically, is it from the brain or behavior? Then once the root is agreed upon, treatment strategies are devised and depending on a therapist’s training, there are usually a few psychological approaches that will be enacted.

Our subconscious issues play a major role in our reactions. Some react with anger, others hurt, others will get ill, and others run. Still, if the issue is left untreated, it only grows and grows and eventually has to be addressed.

My training in Spiritual Psychology kicks into gear when things come to the surface. Once a person becomes aware that they do have a problem, it can be very disturbing. No longer are we stable, effort must be done and quickly. The quick solution may work for a stomach ache or headache, but psychologically speaking, there is a strategy that must be developed and followed.  

I have 11 years of experience in the crisis field. When people lacked the resources to deal with overwhelming issues, their tendency is to shut down and become overwhelmed. Have you ever experienced a panic attack where things felt so overwhelming it felt as if you were having a heart attack? Welcome to my world. That was me in the dental chair for years because sitting there with somebody hurting my body was an overwhelming experience until I started to get psychological help.

 

 

So there I was yesterday, once again in my friend’s dental chair and having him and two assistants drilling on my mouth. An implant failed and he had to remove it. I didn’t realize he had to take out a grinder and drill into my jawbone! What the hell! Did I panic? No. I have learned to ride back an emotional reaction to where it originally started and support the younger part inside of me that hated to have his finger pricked and arm squeezed by the blood pressure cuff.

“Hey, little guy. Let’s hold hands and make it through this together,” I said to my inner self yesterday. “I don’t like this,” he replied. “I think we are going to die,” he added.

While Joe and two others were busy at work, I carried on a loving conversation that included what he would rather be doing at the time. Ultimately it came down to us both trusting our friend who loved us more than anything. As tears rolled out of my eyes my friend noticed and said, “It’s going to be six more minutes, Scott.” He didn’t know my tears weren’t from pain but from appreciation.

A memory came to mind as the three busied themselves away. I was reading a book by Ram Dass, a man who was a disciple of Timothy Leary, that went on a spiritual path in India in the early 1960s. He found a Guru and asked him if he would take LSD with him. Much to his surprise, the Guru agreed. So, they both sat down, took the drug, and for 16 hours the Guru sat there and beamed in joy! If you’ve ever taken LSD you know that it is incredibly powerful and this man didn’t bat an eye. From that moment on Ram Daz stopped using the drug and turned to meditation for his high, realizing that the Guru achieved the high he desired naturally. This was when I tried to be that Guru and sat there beaming as they continued to work on me.

My dentist friend Joe and I met in graduate school, practiced spirituality, and studied spiritual thought together. The energy between us is very powerful. Shoot, we formed a musical group in graduate school and wrote our thesis’s on Rock Bands. Would I choose to be with him or the other dentists I have tried to work with in the PNW? This is a no-brainer. 

Anyway, a half hour later I slowly stood up and the pain I had felt for a month was gone. Okay, so I was under anesthesia, but still, the nagging pain had vanished only to be replaced with a prickly feeling of the anesthesia wearing off. I got a few texts later in the day from him checking on me. Does your dentist ever do that? After a few hours, the pain was gone. No pain relievers were needed and then this morning I was still pain-free. Amazing! 

Spiritual Psychology believes that these issues in our life are for us to face fully. Once we master an issue, we won’t have to deal with it ever again. In school, they told us we were learning soul-centered psychology because it dealt with the health of the soul. When we fully work through an issue, we grow in consciousness, or at the level of the soul.  

Instead of cursing the repeating issues in your life, face them with dignity. In doing so you can put them behind you.

May you continue to triumph over your problems.

Compassionate Care is Always Available

There are many more tools and strategies you can use in your pursuit of happiness. Here is where we come in. Contact us at Basic Steps Mental Health and let us support and educate you on this journey back to your loving heart center. Imagine living a heart-centered life, regardless of what is happening externally. We’d love to be of help.

For 25 years, Dr. Scott Alpert, the clinical director of Basic Steps Mental Health, has treated over 7,000 people with mental health and addiction problems, using a Psychological approach that mixes and matches ten of the top approaches used in the industry. We are here virtually and in-person to help you get through this COVID-19 pandemic and many other difficulties you may be experiencing.

May you have good mental health.