How Plastic Surgery may Affect Your Emotions
If you’ve decided that now is the time you will move forward with your wish to have plastic surgery, you may be flooded with excitement. Most patients are. In the months and weeks before a plastic surgery procedure, patients are busy scheduling time off, arranging for meals and prescriptions and support at home, and imagining how amazing they will feel post-surgery. It is not uncommon for a patient to assume that their feelings of excitement will see them through their procedure and recovery period. Most never imagine that they might experience the opposite of what they expect. But this is a possibility, and one that we should discuss.
Post-operative Emotions: What You Should Know
It is no secret that people who undergo a major surgical procedure like open heart surgery may experience strong emotions at some point soon after their procedure. To most, it makes sense that this may be so. A major surgery is stressful and can be frightening, after all. But plastic surgery? This is a choice that is made to obtain satisfying cosmetic rewards. There’s nothing stressful about that. Or is there? To the body and the nervous system, any surgical procedure carries some degree of stress. This alone could contribute to postoperative sadness.
The technical term for this experience is postoperative depression. It may not feel like sadness so much as the following:
- Unexplained emotional sensitivity
- Irritability
- Anxiety about how recovery is progressing and whether or not side effects are normal
- Doubt or regret about having surgery
- Lack of motivation coupled with missing one’s normal routine
Managing Post-operative Sadness
Feelings of the blues don’t strike every person who has surgery. However, it is beneficial to understand the potential for this experience so that, if it were to occur, it isn’t so jarring. There are ways to manage emotional wellness when you know that the blues can be a normal part of healing.
- Know what to expect right after surgery in terms of how you will look and feel, and how your recovery is expected to progress. Knowing when you may need to call the doctor can help reduce unnecessary stress.
- Have nutritious meals planned ahead of time. You may make meals and freeze them, arrange for loved ones to bring by meals, or create a list of your favorite restaurants that deliver. However you do it, make sure that you eat very well and aren’t the one doing the cooking.
- Talk with friends and family ahead of time. Having someone who checks in on you can do wonders to prevent feelings of isolation. Loved ones can provide support in the way of reminding you what you have to look forward to and showing positivity for your decision to have surgery.
Plastic surgery is meant to be a positive experience, and it can be even when there are bumps in the road. To start your journey to your best self, contact our Campbell off near San Jose at (408) 559-4700.