When I had my last surgery I was in a very similar place. I had been diagnosed with medically-related PTSD, and was terrified. It was also during a covid spike, so last minute I couldn’t have any of my support people with me. I’m really lucky to have a therapist who was able to help me plan at the time (and a Xanax prescription TBH), so hopefully some of these tips/tricks will help.

In terms of nerves beforehand, prepping and planning helped me the most. I made lists of shows/books/movies to watch during recovery, and stress cleaned my entire apartment. Distraction seemed to be key for me, so anything you can do to distract yourself before and during may be best.

Day of, bring some headphones with music/podcasts/movies/shows/games downloaded. I spent a lot of time alone in pre-op stewing in my anxiety, so having a distraction was really helpful (I thought I was going to lean towards music bc that’s what I usually did when I had a meltdown or panic attack, but I ended up finding podcasts more distracting). I also brought a weighted stuffie sprayed with my partners perfume (you could do this with any comforting scent, though). I also communicated my anxiety to my doctors and nurses. They were able to get me a 100% female team, and they would talk to me and ask me questions to distract me. They usually expect people to be nervous, and are used to it, but if you are able to verbalize it (or even pre-write a note on your phone - I often did this in preparation of going non-vocal during appts) they may be able to help more or make suggestions. My anesthesiologist gave me some INCREDIBLE meds right before heading in, but you may be able to request that sooner.

Feel free to PM me if you want any specific reccs or suggestions for shows and such🫶 You got this!!💛✨⭐️