THANKS FOR THE WONDERFUL SUPPORT AND COMMENTS ON THE “BEATING THE SHAME THAT BINDS US” POST ON 4/27!
All of your kind words and inspirational stories gave me the strength I needed today to face the rescheduled dentist appointment from hell AND KNOCK IT OUT OF THE PARK!
And as one of you so kindly shared, it turned out to a pale imitation of the first appointment where I got all the initial bad news. It wasn’t bad after all!
First off, the office was beautifully decorated with wonderful artwork and I’m definitely copying their bathroom in a remodel – yes it is that nice. The staff were nice and friendly. But most of all, Dr. Krieger was terrific! He was very, very gentle during the examination and gave me plenty of breaks. But most of all, he was down to earth and put all of my fears to rest immediately. I won’t lose my teeth, they can do the procedure with sedation all in one shot, and the cost was much less than originally proposed. So waiting a few years to address this actually worked out in my favor. Mostly, he took his time and helped me feel at ease.
Best of all: I beat up that dang shame, practiced meditative breathing, DIDN’T HAVE A PANIC ATTACK, and handled the whole thing calmly and rationally. La was there but I asked most of the questions and even dealt with the financial piece. That was victory number 1!
Victory Number 2: dealt with a minor library missing item issue successfully
Victory Number 3: came home to an unexpected check that La was waiting to surprise me with when she got it as well as two wonderful swaps/free items
Lesson Learned/Ing:
Facing a major fear frees up all the headspace the emotion was occupying, opening up room to focus on the positive coming toward you, even if it’s a problem that seems to simply work itself out, a bit of money or other good fortune, and to be GRATEFUL. Not the platitude grateful but the bone deep experience of thankfulness for the simple blessings.
And all the sudden, all that energy we’ve been expending, sometimes without even realizing it, is freed up. I used it to go to a Body Pump Class tonight and kick butt.
So what is that issue you’ve been putting off? Is it something you can work on now? What would it be like to be past it, to feel that sense of relief and freedom and pride in yourself? To breathe without the weight pressing down on your chest. I feel so light inside now. It’s a wonderful thing and I wish it for you as well.
Related articles
- Shame, Shame, Shame (aprilsoperationskinnybitch.wordpress.com)
- Study Guide #2- What Causes Shame? (readingremy.com)
- It’s go time, no holding back now (bangordailynews.com)
- Guilt and Shame – what are we doing to our kids? (newlifeparties.com)
- A Small Victory (33togo.wordpress.com)
- The Power in Shame (onmiyogi.wordpress.com)
- How to Work with Shame: Buddhism & Embodied Spirituality. (elephantjournal.com)
- Ten Ways Shame Manifests in Your Life – Study Guide 3 (readingremy.com)
Lara, I haven’t been getting notice of your posts, so I Googled the site just to make sure you were all right. Darned old WordPress is screwing with things again! I’m going to unfollow, then sign up again to see if that triggers something.
Thanks so much Sandy for checking. Looks like a bunch of folks weren’t getting it either. But think they fixed it. Didn’t do a new post today but will tomorrow.
We tend to build things up in our heads and make them MUCH worse than they actually are. I used to be guilty of that all the time but now I try to take action immediately instead of wasting time and LOTS of energy worrying about things that aren’t that bad.
I still let things get out of hand from time to time but I am much better. Progress not perfection.
Thank you – especially for your journey and wonderful advice. Progress not perfection!