I took my blood pressure medicine, we drove to the store, and I quietly walked to the blood pressure machine. I sat there, quietly for a minute.
Then, I thought of all the disturbing thoughts possible. Specifically, I tried to call up my white-coat syndrome feeling of dread at having to go to the doctor.
When I felt that my mind was as disturbed as I could get it by thinking fearful and disturbing thoughts, I hit the green button on the blood pressure machine.
Here are the results:
Then, I slowly walked the store with my wife, doing a little shopping.
I returned to the same machine, during the same shopping trip, and I took my blood pressure again.
I sat there quietly, as I did before, but this time …
I told my body to calm itself down. I imagined little robots right at the valves of my heart. These imagined bots regulated everything. I filled my noggin with serene, calming thoughts.
And yet again, I hit the start button on the blood pressure machine.
Here are the results, maybe fifteen minutes after the first reading:
To be fair, for the next four days, I have NOT been able to reproduce the results, but I was able to do it for 3 days in a row.
It’s not as impressive as the first time, I tried the experiment, but there is definitely a difference.
Try it, and let me know what happens.