Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Pavlov's Dog Reaction

I have this weird reaction to doctors' and dentists' chairs; I get sleepy when I sit in them. My husband has dentist anxiety, and gets stressed when he sits in the chair. I'm just the opposite. Often I leave the office feeling a little groggy like I've had a nap. Part of me wonders if this is some kind of self-hypnosis or something. One time I had to have a needle biopsy of my thyroid. Even with that going on, I was totally relaxed and felt sleepy when we were done. When I was a child I used to do relaxation techniques. I wasn't taught to do them, I just figured them out on my own. I would lay in bed and think about every part of my body and adjust however I needed, to get in the most comfortable position. Then I would start at my toes and relax every body part. I think some of those exercises sunk deep, because I am really good a relaxing. I really think that if it weren't for all of the noise and instruments poking in my mouth that I could actually fall asleep in the dentist chair. I just got back from the dentist this morning and I still feel a little sleepy. I'm not complaining, but I do have to wonder if it is a "pavlov's dogs" reaction!

1 comment:

Amber said...

that's a really good thing though - I have such a hard time relaxing, I'm just always so tense, my therapist has a hard time with me sometimes!