Five
Ways To Stave Off Hysterectomy Anxiety
When you are about to undergo any medical surgical
procedure, fear is a common feeling to have. A woman
who must undergo a hysterectomy is going to feel quite
anxious about what is going to happen during and after
the surgery. Everyone experiences this justifiable fear,
so relax in knowing that you are not alone.
Yet, how can you function in every day life, knowing
that you have this upcoming procedure? How can you relax
when there are too many unknowns you must face? While
there is no way to get rid of the terrified jitters,
you can do something to ward them off for a short time.
How can you do this? Actually, there are a number of
ways to do so without consuming alcohol and smoking
cigarettes to calm you down. Listed below are five ideas
that you can use to help you in dealing with an upcoming
hysterectomy procedure.
First, clean your house completely. What does that
mean? It means you do the following things inside your
home:
- Clean all dishes and clothing
- Dust all crevices
- Get rid of cobwebs that have crept up on you
- Mop all floors
- Vacuum floors. You can even carpet clean them.
- Wash down cabinets.
When you do this, you think only about the task at
hand and not about the surgery you are about to undergo.
As you work away, make sure to check off your list of
things that must be done. Before you know it, your surgery
day will arrive and then be finished..
Second, make meals that you can freeze, reheat and
eat once you are back home. You certainly don't want
to stand around trying to cook a meal after you have
had surgery.
Third, prepare your recovery room so that everything
is close at hand so you won't need to get up and down
repeatedly.
Fourth, talk with your family and friends about your
fear and go out with them if they ask you to. They can
do wonders for your feelings and nerves.
Fifth, keep or take up an active lifestyle. Be sure
that you walk around, or go dancing or take up bowling.
Physical exercise keeps your stress level down and allows
you to get a good night's rest.
Some women seek comfort in prayer or attending church;
and some women will go even further and put their affairs
in order. For instance, she may write a letter to each
of her children, husband or significant other to be
read only if the worst happens. While it sounds morbid,
it's her way of telling them that she loves them and
is thinking of them.
Mothers want to shield their children from knowing
that their mother is afraid of the surgery. They may
hide these feelings from their loved ones. Some women
are unable to share this fear with anyone because of
the burden they feel it will cause.
If you fall into any one of these situations, you need
to be able to talk to someone about it. It's not good
to keep your fear bottled inside, so be sure to talk
to someone, even if it's just one person. That one person
will do you a world of good.
If you've done everything you can think of to calm
your fears, but nothing seems to work, you may want
to speak to your physician about the anxiety problem.
He may recommend a light sedative to take when you need
it until the surgery has commenced and you are over
the "hump".
Remember to get plenty of rest and stay fit to keep
these feelings at bay.
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