White Coat Syndrome

Did you know...
Did you know that not everyone knows about "white coat syndrome?"
In late December, when I was getting ready to come to Hippocrates Health Institute (HHI), I told my significant other (perhaps he remembers...), "the best possible outcome is that they confirm for me that I have "white coat syndrome. That would be worth everything."

Friday's (today's) check as follows:
blood pressure (BP): 120 over 78
weight 142

Now, if you read earlier... during the first health check when I arrived at HHI, my BP was taken as 148 over 84, the next day it was taken twice with the second reading being 130 over 80.  Well, it took 3 readings today to get 120 over 78.  I was nervous as heck waiting to get my BP taken today...  I could feel my heart beating miles a minute.  I felt all this nervousness about whether or not I was improving and what my BP reading would be...  I had difficulty calming myself down.  I tried to breathe deep... 
I went into the nurse, she took the first reading... 140s
second reading... 130
third reading... 120 over 78
In between all those readings she kept calmly telling me to relax, breathe deep.  So, I kept breathing deep and trying to relax...  meanwhile amazed that after all the meditation practice I've done that I still can't calm myself down when my BP is being taken.  On the other hand, I suppose I could say that in a matter of some minutes I was able to get it down from 140s to 120.  It helped that the nurse was so calm and not jumping to conclusions!
After seeing the three readings, she said, "I think you have white coat syndrome." 
I'm relieved that someone finally said with confidence that I have white coat syndrome.  I'm still a little unsure...
One of the things that concerns me most is that... I believe our mind is powerful and our thoughts impact our bodies.  I need to work on getting my mind into a better place about my BP so that I can live a healthy life.

UPDATE: if this interests you, see the second -"White Coat Syndrome" Continued- post, for the "white coat syndrome" story continues....

P.S. down 5 pounds, however...  that was probably just the 5 pounds that I had put on during Christmas vacation in the Florida Keys and the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, and 4th "last meals" that I had before I arrived at HHI...