I had a dentist appointment this week to get a crown replaced, and it ended up taking much longer than expected. Dental work has always been one of those things that gives me anxiety and makes my whole body tense before I even sit down.
At some point during the appointment, I noticed the usual “I hate this / I want this to be over” loop starting up. Instead of feeding it, I started moving attention back and forth between taking slow deep breaths and bringing up feelings of metta. I was just quietly watching my breath and sending “good vibes”, trying to keep the body from bracing so hard.
The situation itself didn’t suddenly become pleasant, but the experience changed quite a bit. Less resistance, and it felt like I wasn’t adding a second layer of discomfort mentally to my physical discomfort.
It was one of those moments where I could clearly see my meditation training showing up in a real-life scenario.