You are anxious when you are afraid of something. Many people experience fear and anxiety related to surgery. It is so significant that you may begin to have symptoms such as increased heart rate, nausea, and chest pain. In many cases, anxiety can interfere with the patients’ cooperation and surgery outcomes. There are several ways to overcome your surgical fear and anxiety. Read the tips below to know the ways to overcome this fear and anxiety.
Trust your surgeon
A patent’s trust in the surgeon is a crucial factor in surgery outcome. Trusting your surgeon makes you feel more in control of the situation and indirectly settles the feeling of being out of control. You should believe that the surgeon is capable of treating your condition.
Trust yourself
You think that anxiety implies mistrust of others, but it is just a reflection of mistrust on yourself. Trust yourself and make the decisions accordingly. Trust those decisions. Trusting yourself will help alleviate the fear related to the surgery and lead to positive results.
Ask questions
Prepare a list of questions regarding the surgery to ask your surgeon. Do not feel that you are asking stupid or silly questions. As your surgeon is a well-experienced person, he/she may give you the best answers for your concerns. Whether you undergo minor or major surgery, one thing you should always remember is that your surgeon went to years of schooling to get the license to hold a scalpel.
Plan well to help yourself
Plan your affairs well so that it helps to heal your medical problems and anxiety. Stay active, eat well, exercise daily, engage in a creative hobby, and spend time outside with your friends or pets. All these will help you to overcome surgical fear.
Educate yourself
Do more research about the procedure and increase your knowledge on the medical issue. It helps to calm down your fear and anxiety of surgery. If you know what is going to happen, it will make you feel more in control and remain calm. You can also get best tips for recovering from your particular medical issue. If your surgery is not an emergency and you have a gap for the surgery, then you can find out which are the best hospitals to choose from.
Seek counseling
If you completely understand what is realistic during and after the procedure, then counseling is an option for you. If you are undergoing surgery for a life-threatening illness, then counseling may help you cope with the changes. It also benefits the patients who have had a bad experience with surgery.
Explore alternative treatments
You can opt for alternative treatments like acupressure, acupuncture, massage, tapping, yoga, hypnosis, biofeedback and herbal supplements to manage anxiety and fear. It is important to know that alternative treatment is used to manage the anxiety and is not treatment for surgery.
The most important thing you need to remember is that anxiety and fear are temporary. Once the surgery is done, all these feeling are gone. Trusting your surgeon and yourself will help in becoming comfortable with the operating team.
