Hey guys, today I’m going to be answering a question where someone asked why they are still grinding their teeth long after a stressful event that may have caused the teeth grinding in the first place. They also mentioned that they are not stressed about that event anymore, but the teeth grinding is still happening.

Actually, there are two instances here. First instance is, if a stressful event triggered your teeth grinding or chronic teeth grinding, it doesn’t mean that just because you consciously tell yourself that you’re not stressed about it anymore, the stress has been processed.

You may consciously think that the event is not stressing you, but your subconscious mind might still be holding on to that stress. That’s why it has become uncontrollable because it’s your unconscious mind, or the unprocessed stress, which is controlling it.

You may presently think that the event is not stressful anymore, but that’s just what you consciously think. Your mind is still probably holding on to that event.

Another factor is that the event may not be stressing you anymore, but because you’ve been grinding your teeth for a very long time, it’s become so habitual that any slight stress in life can trigger it. Day-to-day life has many stressors, whether it’s work, home, relationships, or bills. These can all lead to normal stress. Now, because your mind has gotten used to teeth grinding as a way to relieve this small stress, it will continue even if the original stressful event no longer bothers you.

To really overcome this, you need to disrupt the mind from this pattern. That’s how therapy works; it disrupts the mind from the pattern it’s gotten used to and helps you find alternative coping mechanisms. I hope that makes sense. You may feel that the event is not stressful anymore, or you may not feel much stress now, but because your mind has gotten used to it, any small stress will always lead to chronic teeth grinding.