“The fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.” This is a very interesting saying. I believe that this saying is completely true. My mom and dad decide that it is time for me to get braces. I tell them they are crazy; there is no way I am getting braces. I think braces will not be worth the pain. As I am talking with the orthodontist I am beginning to verify my thought of tremendous pain. The experience is going to be brutal I tell myself. The orthodontist tells me that on the first day I need to keep my mouth open for one hour while they put the braces on, and if I close my mouth they have to start over again. Then the orthodontist tells me about having to get the braces tightened every now and then. Just the thought of the braces being tightened has me cringing with pain.

After all of this thought comes the awfully dreaded day. I walk in and have to wait in the waiting room for awhile. Then the orthodontist comes out and calls my name. I sit down in the chair, open my mouth, and they begin the process. The orthodontist tells me that she is done. That hour flew by extremely fast. Then a couple weeks later I go in to get my braces tightened. This was the day I looked forward to the least. The orthodontist calls me in right away and at that time I get even more nervous. The orthodontist assures me that this process is painless. All I can think of at this moment is that she is a liar. I open my mouth and about thirty minutes later the orthodontist tells me she is done. I tell the orthodontist that she was right; it was a painless process.

After going through this experience I agree with the saying “the fear of suffering is worse than the suffering itself.” Everything I thought that was going to be painful was actually painless. In a way I think the thought of suffering, in fact, makes the actual suffering better. You tell your brain that the pain is going to be excruciating; therefore, when you go through the process your brain thinks the pain was not as bad as you thought the pain was going to be. However, stress leading up to the event can be a problem.