How do I prepare myself psychologically for a surgery?

Most people who have surgery in the operating room usually try some anxiety before the operation itself. These sensations, although completely normal, can affect not only the patient but also the recovery from surgery. So what can we do to cope with anxiety and post-surgery changes ?

How do I prepare myself psychologically for a major physical change?

When you want to face a cosmetic intervention , you usually look for a specific change. So having an openness to change, and accepting it, is fundamental. Before going to the operating room:

• the patient must have resolved all his doubts;
• the patient-surgeon relationship must be as clear as possible and, obviously, of great trust;
• if you feel the need, contact a professional to better face your aesthetic operation;
• try to go as relaxed as possible to the operation;
• remember that this is a permanent change;
• look at the simulation image your surgeon gives you;
• follow the advice of the medical staff;
• be prepared because you will probably see yourself swollen, bruised or misshapen until you heal completely. Remember that this is an operation and, as such, there are possible risks;
• consider the possibility that the operation will not produce the desired result;
• enter the operating room completely sure of what you are doing;
• do not get carried away by impulses or passing fashions;
• think carefully about the step you are taking.

As we can see, there are many factors to take into account before entering the operating room for a cosmetic procedure. But, above all, it is important to enter the operating room with the confidence that it is really the change we want, a change that should give us personal improvement.

How to accept me after the surgery?

You have to take several variables into consideration.

• Do not compare yourself with other people who have undergone the same operation: each person has their own path of evolution and recovery.
• Scarring and healing takes time.
• Staying in contact with your psychologist will be important to better assimilate the entire process of the operation and change.
• Consider the support offered by the clinic. Be rigorous in following the guidelines indicated by the medical staff.
• Request all the information you need about your surgery from your surgeon.
• The more you get used to everything the medical team tells you, the less chance there will be for the patient to feel sad during the process.
• Respect the times assigned to you.
• Don’t seek perfection.
• It is an operation, so you will probably feel pain afterwards. Accept that it is part of the process.

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There are people who have been taught to avoid anger , while they could more easily afford to be sad or afraid. For others, sadness was forbidden: “There is no need to cry! Crying girls are ugly!”. There are emotions more or less allowed, and others more or less forbidden .

For this reason, sometimes it happens to replace one emotion with another . If I allow myself the anger but not the pain, I could lose my temper over a loss, instead of feeling sad, but this emotion is not functional to process that loss and overcome the grief.

The etymology of the word emotion can be traced back to the Latin “emovère” (ex = out + movere = to move) , and literally means “to bring out”, to move. From this I can say that emotions are present from within us and manifest themselves outside.

In Transactional Analysis we talk about authentic emotions and parasitic emotions.

1. Authentic emotions are the ones you really feel on a given occasion.
2. Those “parasites” (inauthentic) are those that “cover” the authentic ones, they are emotions “learned and encouraged” in childhood or simply emotions that allowed us to be seen.

Inauthentic emotions are “unsuitable as an adult means of problem solving” (Stewart I., Joines V. P. 267). It thus happens that a person can “learn” to experience, feel and express an emotion prevailing in all circumstances in which he feels uncomfortable, covering up the authentic emotion.

When we feel any emotion we can ask ourselves if it is actually adequate and functional to the here and now of that specific situation. It is necessary to listen to one’s own emotional world, the one that contains the Child that we have been, from which we sink our roots. Understanding if what you feel proves useful and functional to the here and now and if the way in which you automatically react on different occasions allows a constructive resolution or not. In that case all that repressed emotional potential must be recovered and kept silent for a long time.

It is necessary to create the place and space to listen to the soul and the emotions that harbor it , one of these places is precisely the therapy room, where you do not look at the clock, but are tuned only to the time of the listener and of those who are heard.

How to manage anxiety before the operation?

It is normal to feel an increase in anxiety in the face of an operation . Therefore, considering these guidelines can be of great help in reducing anxiety before entering the operating room.

• Having healthy habits
• Continue with your daily life.
• Limit the use of alcohol, drugs or tobacco.
• Healthy food.
• Exercise.
• Have a nice rest.
• Create moments of mental disconnection.
• Organize everything before undergoing the operation.
• If you have children, try to leave them at a relative’s home.
• Work: Here too, plan everything before the operation.
• Doing this while on vacation can help you avoid having to give explanations.
• Talk to others about your operation.
• Manage your operation and the whole process with your psychologist.
• Resolve all your doubts with your surgeon before entering the operating room.

A good management of preoperative anxiety is an important factor to take into consideration to face the operation away from fears and unknowns. Going to the operation surrounded by doubts and a lot of anxiety is obviously not the same as going relaxed and fearless.

How to manage the fear of pain in the healing phase?

When a person undergoes an operation , they are aware that the operation will involve pain. Fear of pain is more than reasonable, as fear is a fundamental and universal emotion that protects us from danger to ensure our survival. Therefore, in a surgical operation, it makes sense to be afraid of pain. These guidelines are recommended for managing fear of pain during recovery.

• Normalize and understand that the vast majority of people who are exposed to surgery fear before it.
• The more information you have about the steps and processes of your operation, the better you will manage the pain, as you will understand that it is part of the process.
• Maintain a good flow of communication with the surgeon.
• Be confident in the operation and recovery.
• You must have confidence in the medical team who will take care of you. They are qualified people who have great experience.
• We remind you that before undergoing the operation it is important to seek all the necessary information about the clinic and the medical staff, to make sure that it is a professional and competent staff.

Keep in mind that when you are in the postoperative period, pain fears will increase, which is why following these guidelines is important for good pain management.