Are you waiting for surgery and are feeling anxious? Wanting the surgery, but I also feel scared. Now, consider hypnotherapy.
With over 30 years of experience as a nurse, I have seen many people who are very anxious about going to the hospital. I really get it.
There is help at hand. Some people see counsellors and hypnotherapists with the fear of surgery, also called preoperative anxiety.
But what is this fear about?
Anxiety is a response to a threat or perceived threat. It results in worry, cognitive distortions and negative thinking. The body responds by increasing the heart rate, increasing breathing and preparing the body for flight or fight. It’s a fear response.
Anxiety around surgery is situational.
Surgery anxiety and pre-surgery stress are common.
What causes anxiety before surgery?
There are many reasons for a fear of surgery. The first reason might be that you didn’t have the correct information or didn’t understand what the surgeon told you.
In this situation, you should always speak with your doctor or healthcare professional so they can explain things to you again.
But the reasons can be more unusual. For example, it might be more than a fear of the surgery; it might be a fear of the outcome, worries about possible pain and/or nausea, feeling out of control, a fear that the condition could be worse, a reminder of previous bad experiences, a fear of the unknown, or a fear of complications.
There are so many reasons, as everyone is an individual with different experiences.
What is hypnotherapy?
Hypnotherapy is a combination of hypnosis and therapy practices.
Hypnosis is a form of focused attention, a bit like daydreaming. In this state, it is easier to pick up positive suggestions and make changes.
Therapies included with hypnosis are counselling skills, psychotherapy, and sometimes other complementary therapies such as EFT (Emotional Freedom Technique).
Why hypnotherapy is effective for surgery anxiety
Research shows that hypnotherapy can help people before surgery to relax and reduce anxiety and more.
It’s also a way of calming anxiety naturally and changing the fear without medications and their potential side effects.
Hypnotherapy helps improve focus, reduce stress, and improve mental preparation.
When people are relaxed and well-prepared, they have less pain and can enhance wound healing.
Other less apparent benefits of hypnotherapy include delivery choices, such as listening to an audio recording, working online with a hypnotherapist, or seeing them in an office.
Relaxation techniques to help pre-surgery stress
Relaxation is important before surgery.
A hypnotherapist can teach many techniques that complement the actual hypnosis. For example, I might teach clients to practise deep breathing, visualisation techniques, and mindfulness.
Progressive muscular relaxation systematically relaxes the body. It can be done in or out of hypnosis.
However, hypnotic relaxation feels very nice, can help the mind feel calmer, and can relax the body’s muscles.
When muscles are relaxed, they get a better blood supply, so there should be less pain and more benefit from pain medication.
Hypnotherapy for the fear of surgery
Fear of surgery can result in worry, anxious feelings and sometimes behavioural changes.
But that isn’t surprising as many strange machines, instruments and staff dressed in theatre outfits can seem very scary.
Hypnotherapy can help reduce the fears by addressing the cause and reframing the difficulties. Positive suggestions are delivered by directly speaking to the subconscious or telling stories using hypnotic language patterns.
As fear is reduced, suggestions can be given to boost confidence and self-esteem.
Find out more at Awaken the Change.
Would you like to experience hypnotherapy before your surgery to help you feel less anxious before surgery? Book a free initial consultation online and discover how hypnotherapy might help you.
