How to manage anxiety about a surgical intervention?

It has been proven in different investigations that the fact of feeling anxiety affects the state before and after surgery. Therefore, it will be important to work on it to improve the patient's condition and speed up his recovery.

Various techniques have been found useful to manage fear and the feeling of anguish in general, adapted according to the age of the patient and his characteristics.

In this article we discuss the effect of anxiety in patients during surgical interventions and we will see several tips on how to manage anxiety before an operation.

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Effects that a surgical intervention can produce

A surgical intervention is considered a stressful event for the individual, since it is an unpredictable event of which we do not know with absolute certainty what the result will be like final. Before an operation, the patient also feels that he loses control over himselfSince the surgery does not depend on it, it is therefore very likely that anxiety may appear that affects the coping with the intervention and subsequent recovery.

It has been observed that the optimal degree of concern to face an intervention is moderate, since if the concern is very low, patients tend to be less cooperative and more irritable and angry, and because of contrary, very high levels of this can lead to develop pathological fears and lead the person to also be less involved in the subsequent healing process.

In this way, it will be very important to assess and take into account the emotional and psychological state of the patient and what thoughts he has about the intervention before performing surgery, since in this way we make sure that the process is not so negative or stressful and that subsequent recovery is better, showing the subject more collaborator.

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How to deal with anxiety before an operation?

As we have seen, anxiety will affect post-intervention recovery; for this reason it is essential to treat it and keep it in mind before performing the surgery. In this regard, let's look at various tips and strategies to help patients cope with anxiety before an operation.

1. Consider the different types of patients

Not all individuals benefit in the same way from different anxiety coping techniques, and therefore psychological intervention is carried out in a personalized way.

One of the characteristics to assess is whether the subject presents sensitizing traits, that is, if he is an anxious and vigilant person before the sensations of pain or on the contrary it is repressive (who will deny the stress and avoid any thought about it). In reference to patients with the first type of trait, by conducting a study that consisted of the viewing of films with or without information on the intervention, it was seen that these obtained positive results from watching tape; On the other hand, if the repressors saw the tape only once, they presented more anxiety than if they did not see it.

Another variable to consider is the typical coping style of each individual. It has been seen that there are patients who seek information about the surgery, these being the ones who will benefit from receiving information and will thus show less anxiety. On the contrary, there are other people considered "avoidants" to whom, to ensure that anxiety does not rise much or decrease, it is advisable not to give them too much information, or to give them only the essential information of the intervention.

In the same way, depending on whether doctors need the patient to be more or less active During the operation, one or the other coping style will be better. When it is important for the patient to intervene, the subject's active style is beneficial; Conversely, when less collaboration is needed, better results will be obtained by remaining passive by applying distraction strategies for anxiety.

Finally, another aspect to assess the patient is the degree of anxiety of her. It has been observed that less anxious patients will benefit more from receiving more information about the intervention; On the other hand, for those with a higher anxiety trait, it will be better to provide them with accurate information without overdoing it.

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2. Empower the patient

In an investigation that was carried out with patients who were going to undergo surgery, it was observed that subjects who were given information about the pain they could feel and who were taught breathing techniques, improved their state of anxiety, they needed less analgesics and were discharged earlier.

Thus, it has been seen that there are two types of information that are most effective in improving the patient's condition. One of these types is to provide knowledge about the surgical procedure, this means let you know better what the intervention will be like, what will happen before and after it, where the intervention will be performed, what subsequent treatment will you receive, how much time to recover your estimate ...

The second type of information that has proven beneficial is providing you with knowledge about the sensations you will have, how you are likely to feel and feel before and after the operation. In this way we try to reduce uncertainty.

Having a chance to express yourself can help decrease your anxiety, to say how you feel, what your concerns and fears are and thus be able to ask, reduce your degree of uncertainty and receive the support from professionals, since, as we have mentioned, anxiety makes both the way to face the operation and the recovery difficult later.

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3. In cases of very intense anxiety, go to a psychologist

The doctor will be in charge of communicating the necessary information that he needs to know about the intervention, providing him with a personal treatment and adapting his performance to the type of patient.

But if it is the case that anxiety does not decrease, being very high and detrimental to the procedure that will be performed, it will be recommended that you be referred to the psychologist in order to work more specifically on this anxiety and to be able to train more precise techniques to reduce it, such as relaxation, psychoeducation, the cognitive restructuring...

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Emotional preparation for surgical interventions in young children

Children have different characteristics or capacities from adults, for this reason it will be necessary to adapt the preparation and manage anxiety, before a future intervention. In this way we also make sure that the first medical experiences are not negative, increasing the possibility that the attitude of the little ones regarding future treatments is not bad.

It has been proven that it is necessary to adapt the information we give according to the age of the patient, so that he can have an adequate understanding of it and can really benefit from the process. Thus, in younger children the information on the intervention is given in a very general way, doing it in the most as possible and showing him the different instruments used by the doctor (the most specific information is given to his fathers).

As the minor grows, the amount of knowledge and specification of the information that is given increases., so that reached adolescence, the same variables that are considered with adults will be taken into account.

In various investigations it has been observed that play benefits children to better understand their pathology and helps to prepare them emotionally for different medical interventions. In a complementary way, it has also been seen that conbuilding a relationship of trust between the child and the professionals who will treat him or her can help reduce fear and anxiety.

Different procedures have been used to cope with anxiety in children; for example the technique of emotional imagination has been applied, which consists of the child imagining a hero who helps reduce anxiety. Another method of intervention to overcome anxiety before an operation is based on training in muscle relaxation and breathing complemented with images that the child like, distraction strategies and self-instructions, to guide in situations stressful.

Finally, Another intervention that has been found effective in minors is filmed modeling. This procedure consists of passing a film to the child where the stay of a minor in the clinic is shown from the time he enters until discharge from it. At first, this child feels anxiety, but throughout the filming, ways to cope and techniques to reduce it are shown. Despite the benefits observed with this procedure, it has been seen that it is not recommended when the intervention is imminent, occurring on the same day, since the child will not have time to fully understand the information.

Similarly, it will be important to introduce parents to the procedures we perform with children, since surely they too have anxiety about the future operation and it will be necessary to prepare them to act as support for their children.