01/05/2026
And I managed it without alllllll the anxiety. 😮
I’ve had actual nightmares for years about my teeth crumbling in my mouth and falling out.
I’m hanging out doing my thing and my teeth just fall out of my mouth.
IRL I’ve learned to take very good care of my teeth after a root canal 12 years ago. I was so depressed in my mid 20’s I didn’t do a lot of flossing and got a bad cavity that led to a root cancel and crown.
Since then, I’ve been on it. But I went to the dentist for a cleaning and she was like, “OMG! Somehow in the last six months you got this huge cavity beneath your crown. We’re going to have to extract the tooth.”
I was so confused until I remembered it was the same tooth from those years ago that I’ve continued having problems with.
A week later waiting for the extraction in a few weeks, eating some almond roca, the tooth just dropped out my mouth. IT FELL RIGHT OUT! 😮
My nightmare. One of my literal worst nightmares just happened.
But the difference was…it was fine.
Like most nightmares, the nightmare was worse than the reality. The anxiety of what that experience would be like was different than the reality.
I laughed. The worst I imagined had just happened.
Now I have the incredible privilege of being able to get and pay for an implant, have access to a wonderful and highly educated dentist ( if you’re in Eugene, OR)…
But the point is…I thought the worst would happen a certain way and it didn’t. I was OK. It was OK.
There were parts of it to deal with…eating soft foods, managing a vacation with stitches in my mouth…but it was totally fine.
This is my experience with anxiety, and anticipation, and dread, and imagining, and predicting over and over and over.
The thing happens, the person dies, I start the business, I say the dumb thing…and it’s fine.
Are there feelings? Yes!
Things to deal with? Yes!
But it’s OK. And it’s always so clear that my idea about it was way worse than the reality.
I want you to look for this too.
How often do you think the worst and it’s not that bad?
How often do you predict an awful outcome and it’s pretty fine?
How often do you worry for days, weeks, years and it’s OK?
