Staying Calm Before Surgery

Reducing stress helps your recovery

It’s normal to feel anxious before surgery. But too much stress can affect how well you heal. If your nerves are working overtime, take time out to reduce your stress so you can enjoy a faster and healthier recovery.

Focus on the fact you’ll be in the hands of highly trained and experienced surgeons who successfully perform thousands of surgeries like yours each year.

If that isn’t enough to shake off your worries, we recommend using relaxation techniques like meditation, deep breathing, yoga or even sitting quietly for 10 to 20 minutes a day.

A simple relaxation exercise

Give yourself a vacation from stress by closing your eyes and picturing yourself relaxing in a peaceful place.

  • Sit or lie in a comfortable position.
  • Close your eyes and begin to breathe slowly and deeply.
  • Imagine a relaxing scene where you’d love to be right now (a sandy beach, a field of wildflowers, the woods, etc.)
  • Put yourself in the scene. Pay special attention to what you see, smell and feel.
  • Focus on this scene as long as you want and open your eyes when you are ready.

You may want to listen to some soft music while doing this exercise. There are many visualization tapes available to help with this kind of exercise. Check at the public library, the bookstore or online.