Phew, I need a double scotch after reading about your drive to your appointment!!
Somehow, I still think there is a perspective that can be useful here-
I like using your story as an analogy for two possible routes to travel, one full of stress-inducing busy traffic, and another scenic long way home (and not just because as you know, I am a Supertramp fan)
Naturally, if you are feeling tense to begin with, no one would dispute the logic of choosing the low-stress route
But here's a different way to see it, what if you looked at taking the hi-stress route as a challenge, made it an experiment, just to see if you can find a way to experience it, your mind on both the oncoming cars, AND keeping your muscles, stomach from tightening up in response?
It might take even deeper, slower breaths, an attitude adjustment, a sense of mockery: "Aha, I laugh at you, giant semi-truck headed for me, watch how I deftly avoid thee!"
Different mental techniques for different people, but the goal would be the same, to not let that stress experience turn into a physical thing
And what if you got good at that, practiced it daily, so that you could build on it, so that eventually you respond less and less to stress stimuli (and no, I'm sure it never goes away completely, nor should it)
so then if you accept the ideas in the book that that pain has a memory, or in other words, it builds up an efficient pain neural superhighway, then the better you get at doing this, the better you will be 5 years from now if you start doing this today!
Well, that's what I'm trying anyway
Aha, I laugh at you, many, many sound effects needed for next show, watch how I deftly record thee!
