Preparing for Surgery with Hypnotherapy
I knew I needed to do some mental preparation for this surgery coming up in a few weeks. I could feel myself starting to dwell on my doubts and fears that things might go wrong or that the healing wouldn’t be straightforward. This was my third ankle surgery, this time to get all the metal removed after a year of living with the pins and a plate in my ankle. I was fairly confident I would be ok, I had two successful surgeries before this last year and perhaps there was just a part of me that doubted I would be so lucky the third time.
I knew there was something I could do to alleviate the worry and anxiety that was starting to creep in as the weeks grew closer to surgery day. I felt it was time to make myself a self-hypnosis to listen to leading up to the surgery. This hypnosis would gently relax me and calm my nerves and fear relating to healing and help me sink into deep trust that everything was going to go well.
There is a type of surrendour with surgery that when you are in someone else’s hands, you really have no control about the outcome. Going into general anaesthetic I really had to put my trust in the surgeon and nurses to do their best for me. I had to put my trust in my body to cope and recover from the anaesthetic and trauma in the best possible way. I had to let go… this is usually hard for me to let go of control.
So this self-hypnosis was going to lead me in a journey to help me trust and let go in all these aspects, to really mentally prepare myself and see the best possible outcome happening for me, both in the surgery and in the recovery afterwards too. I am a visual person so I like to visualise the process and imagine all the cells and tissues healing well and my body coping well, feeling calm.
It’s a bit weird to make a hypnosis and then listen to your own voice playing back to you, but I did it. I actually felt calmer and steadier in my nerves and allowed my body to relax and slow down. The morning of the surgery arrived and I went in, all ready, feeling pretty calm and actually excited. I was ready to get my body back to full capacity. It was a full day in hospital and I woke up out of anaesthetic feeling pretty good, aware and relaxed. I could walk, I was on the way home to full recovery.
After only 3 days of full rest and recovery from the anaesthetic and trauma from the surgery, I was feeling very much more myself. The next two weeks I felt alive, free and happy, enjoying walking whilst giving myself lots of leg up rest in-between. I possibly, no probably did too much – pushing the enjoyment of walking and dancing. Caution there Marcia, keep it slow. However, I can surely say that this hypnosis set me up for the best outcome through this surgery. I am truly grateful in my body’s ability to heal and know exactly what to do for full recovery. How resourced we are!
If you’re needing a hypnosis for preparation to undergo surgery here is a link to listen to. May you find it useful just as I have!