Undergoing Surgery: People You Should and Shouldn’t Have Accompanying You
Undergoing surgery is a challenging experience and having people you trust by your side is important during this difficult time. While there may be people who can truly guide you in addition to the surgeons and nurses, it’s crucial to carefully select people who accompany you.
This Pacific Prime Latin America article will discuss people you should and shouldn’t have accompanying you when you are undergoing surgery to help you decide which qualities you should look for and avoid in selecting your companions to remain by your side during this difficult time.
Surgery Anxiety: What Makes Undergoing Surgery a Difficult Experience
When undergoing surgery, people tend to feel uncomfortable and could experience anxiety about what could happen during the surgery or the aftermath. This is known as surgery anxiety, which can manifest in numerous ways ranging from physical to mental symptoms.
Surgery anxiety could be caused by fear of the unknown or prior bad surgical experiences and some common symptoms may include the following
- Difficulties sleeping
- Stress and heart palpitations or irregular heartbeat
- Nausea and upset stomach
- Shortness of breath
- General feelings of worrying about receiving anesthetic and the procedure overall.
Some methods that can help relieve the symptoms of surgery anxiety include destressing by listening to music before the procedure and relaxation techniques like yoga or meditation.
Above all, the key to relieving symptoms of surgery anxiety is support from friends and family, and thoughtful consideration is crucial in filtering out people who should and shouldn’t accompany you, which brings us to our next point.
People You Should Have Accompanying You When Undergoing Surgery
Now that you know about why undergoing surgery can be a difficult experience, let’s now move onto what we previously discussed, which is support from friends and family members, specifically those you should bring along with you as you undergo surgery.
Some qualities to look out for in selecting people you should bring along with you as you undergo surgery include empathy and communication skills. Below we will discuss the types of people you should bring along with you when undergoing surgery.
Empathetic People
As we mentioned earlier, beyond calming down using music before the surgery or breathing exercises like yoga or meditation, support from friends and family is the key to relieving symptoms of surgery anxiety. You will want to bring along people with true empathy.
These people, whether they are your family members or friends, will actually be able to sympathize with what you are going through and do whatever it takes to help guide you through this difficult time. You can start by discussing your concerns regarding your upcoming surgery with your trusted family members or friends.
Your trusted family members or friends can not only sympathize with you but could also go the extra mile by recommending mental healthcare professionals to further help you relieve your surgery anxiety.
People With Good Communication Skills
While we’re on the subject of empathy and listening, good communication skills is one quality you should never overlook when selecting people you would like to have accompanying you as you are about to undergo surgery.
People with good communication skills can clearly convey your concerns to doctors and nurses, which really comes in handy for addressing your dietary needs, medication schedules, or updates on your condition all in a timely manner.
Additionally, these types of people can help keep you informed on any potential changes to your surgical or check-up plans. The transparent communication will help reduce stress and anxiety, ensuring you undergo surgery with no worries.
People With Emotional and Mental Strength
Having companions with emotional and mental strength accompanying you before undergoing surgery is important as they can remain calm even in the face of challenging situations to provide much-needed support.
For instance, as surgery can be a stressful experience with potential for uncertainties, this also means there could be moments where things may not go as planned such as delays or sudden complications.
Having someone by your side who doesn’t panic in the face of these situations will help create a calm environment, eliminating unnecessary stress both for you and those around you.
In the aftermath of the surgery in which recovery can be both uncomfortable and time-consuming, having someone emotionally strong means they can also help you with not only empathy but also patience, allowing you to get back on your feet once more.
People You Shouldn’t Have Accompanying You When Undergoing Surgery
Now that you know the types of people who you should bring along with you when undergoing surgery, such as empathetic or emotionally strong people, let’s now move onto the contrary by discussing the types of people you shouldn’t bring along with you when undergoing surgery.
Some of the types of people you’ll want to avoid bringing along include people who take advantage of you, people who are prone to panicking, and pessimistic individuals. Below we will be discussing the types of people you should avoid selecting as your companion when undergoing surgery.
People Who Take Advantage of You
Naturally, the best place to start off the discussion on the types of people you shouldn’t bring along with you when undergoing surgery are people who take advantage of you as they may prioritize their own interests rather than your wellbeing.
For instance, instead of genuinely caring for you throughout your surgical plans, these individuals may neglect your needs in favor of their own, like focusing on how they can benefit from your situation such as attention-seeking or financial gain.
Additionally, as surgery is a time of physical and emotional vulnerability, individuals like this may take advantage of you by making certain decisions that benefit them instead of you.
People Who Aren’t Emotionally Strong
We previously mentioned people who are emotionally strong, specifically people who won’t panic even in the face of challenging moments during surgical plans as people you want to hold onto when undergoing surgery. On the contrary, people who are prone to panicking and stress are people you’ll want to avoid when selecting a suitable companion as you are about to undergo surgery.
The reason being is because through frequent panicking or outbursts, these people can make the situation more about them rather than helping you, which can be incredibly problematic when you need care the most.
Additionally, such emotional drama could also lead to unnecessary stress not only for you, but also others like doctors, nurses, other patients, families, and more.
People Who are Pessimistic
People with a negative outlook on everything or constantly surmising worst-case scenarios of your surgery outcomes, much like lack of emotional strength and frequent panicking or stress, can also create unnecessary stress for both you and the doctors or nurses.
As you are about to undergo surgery, there’s nothing you need more than emotional support and care from those you trust, even in the face of certain uncertainties. The negativity of these individuals can severely affect your confidence in the surgeons, which can be absolutely unhelpful.
Conclusion
In times of stress and uncertainty like an upcoming surgery, there’s nothing you need more than genuine care and support from those closest to you such as friends or family members. Some traits you’ll want to look for in selecting your companions include empathy, strong communication skills, and emotional strength in helping care for you from pre-surgery to recovery.
On the other hand, the types of people you’ll want to avoid when selecting your companions include those who may take advantage of you, lack the proper emotional strength to remain calm even in the face of stressful moments, or pessimistic individuals who may create not only unnecessary tension for you, but also the medical staff and other patients as well.
As an expat living in Mexico, the risk of injuries and illnesses will always exist like anywhere else and medical costs may be overwhelming in comparison to your home country. With health insurance, however, you can craft a safety net for not only yourself, but also your family.
Additionally, with the right plan selection, your health insurance plan can also further lessen the financial burden by covering surgery fees to assure neither you nor your family members will have to pay out-of-pocket. While plan selections can be daunting, we are happy to tell you that it doesn’t have to be a nightmare and that’s where we come in.
As an experienced international health insurance broker, Pacific Prime Latin America has helped both local citizens and expats seek out suitable health insurance plans that align with their comfortable budget range and unique healthcare priorities.
Whether you’re an expat in Mexico or a local citizen yourself, we can go the extra mile by offering completely impartial advice at no additional cost. If you have any further questions, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us and get a free quote here for plan comparisons.
He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication Arts, Media & Communication major (concentration: Creative Content) from Mahidol University International College (MUIC). During the compulsory major elective period in the summer of 2021 and voluntarily during the summer of 2022, he also interned as a video and photo editor at Mbrella Films.
He has experience working as an English Content Writer at a real estate buying/renting/selling platform in Thonglor. There, he crafted company blog posts on a multitude of topics. Topics include market trends, legal issues and disputes in property businesses, financial guides, expat guides, home insurance, home decoration and maintenance, and weekly real estate news quick-recaps. Occasionally, as part of the blog-writing process, he would also translate existing Thai blogs to English.
In his free time, Guy enjoys doing scriptwriting and storytelling for comic strips, watching movies, and listening to music (particularly film scores).
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