Mental Health

Functional outcomes after surgery are influenced by your mental health when entering surgery. The two main goals of optimizing your mental health prior to surgery are to reduce levels of stress and anxiety and to motivate you to follow a prehabilitation plan.

Relaxation techniques...

Practicing mindfulness can reduce levels of stress and anxiety.  Practicing mindfulness can be as simple as sitting in one place and focusing on your breathing.  If you are new to practicing mindfulness here is one way to get started.

1. Take a seat and sit up straight but comfortably.
2. Set a timer, for beginners anywhere from 5-10 minutes is fine.
3. Focus on your breathing.
4. Your mind will start to wander.  Take note of this, acknowledge those thoughts and then bring your thoughts back to your breathing.
5. Keep bringing your focus back to your breathing until your timer goes off. 

It is important for you to feel that your mental health is being supported during the prehabilitation period.  Oftentimes, simply discussing your emotions with someone can reduce your levels of stress and anxiety. 

Many online resources exist to help you on your mindfulness journey:

www.headspace.com is a website that will help guide you through the practice of meditation and mindfulness.  

Dr. Mike Evans Stress Managment video: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6402QJp52M

Surgery Prep Meditation:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ocSj_3LcKuk