As stated in earlier blogs, surgical trauma is one of the more complex categories of trauma to treat because of the multiple factors that combine in a surgery. Immobilization, altered states of consciousness, physical injury, the body’s feeling that it is being attacked, as well as the sometimes thoughtless conversations that happen in the operating room can all work together to create a tangle of traumatizing factors.
In this blog, I will address the altered states of consciousness that accompany surgeries and ways to prepare for them, so that they are less frightening and do not leave a lasting imprint.
Different Responses to Altered States
Not everybody is frightened by altered states of consciousness.
For some people—those who may have experiences with shamanic or dreaming practices, active imagination, or substances that alter awareness—the change of state may be something that they take easily into stride, and the different quality of the anesthesia may be only another variant of an experience that they already know how to integrate.
For others, however, the dissociative experience of anesthesia can be very frightening. As they drift away, they may fear that they are dying, or that they will not be able to return. As I stated in an earlier blog, transitions, in a surgical experience are extremely important. If we are frightened as we go under the anesthesia, fear will leave its stamp on the whole surgical experience and will be the predominant emotion that we experience upon waking. If we feel confident, safe and protected as we fall into the anesthetized sleep, it is this sense of confidence and safety that will color the whole experience.
Preparing for Surgery: Building Confidence Before Anesthesia
How then, do we do our best to assure this confidence as we fall asleep for our surgery?
There are a number of possibilities:
- The presence of a trusted friend or ally in the operating room
- A reassuring doctor you trust
- Spiritual support, such as asking loved ones for prayer or holding a prayer yourself
“The last thing that he heard before slipping under anesthesia was his doctor saying, ‘Don’t worry. We are going to take really good care of you.'”
— a story from a friend
If we feel confident, safe, and protected as we fall into the anesthetized sleep, that sense will color the whole experience.
Meditation Practice: Preparing for Altered States
Another way to work with the anesthetized state is to practice a meditation in the days leading up to the surgery that teaches you to disconnect from and return to your body.
This way, when the anesthesia begins to affect your system, you are practiced in surrendering to the different quality of awareness that it brings.
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Some Thoughts About Surrender and a Story of Divine Providence
We are a culture that values control over surrender. We are trained to do, to produce, to be capable and effective, rather than to let go. This may serve us in the boardroom, but it doesn’t help us let go to an altered state of awareness.
Some time ago, I chanced on Harry Potter, The Deathly Hallows 2, on late night TV and watched again, the scene where Harry meets Professor Dumbledore in the afterlife. As Harry decides to go back to Hogwarts (sorry for the spoiler for anyone who hasn’t seen it yet!) Dumbledore’s parting words to him are “Help is always given at Hogwarts to those who need it.” I think this is a fitting phrase for the story that I want to tell here.
Many years ago, I accompanied my mother in a hip replacement surgery. I went with her to the pre-surgery interview with her surgeon and spoke with him about some of our requests. One of them was that I would be permitted to be with my mother while the anesthesia took effect, so that she could go to sleep with my presence to help her stay calm and feel safe. The surgeon assured us that this would be possible.
Fast forward to the day of the surgery. There is my mother, dressed in the surgical gown and cap and footies. I am ready to accompany her through the forbidding double doors where she will receive the anesthesia–as the surgeon promised that I would be able to do. The surgeon is nowhere to be seen, and I am firmly told by the hospital staff that it is against hospital policy, and I need to say good-bye to my mother here. I looked at her and made the choice not to make a fuss. I was concerned that if I protested, this would agitate and upset her and she was already nervous. So I let them wheel her away and I didn’t see her until after the surgery was over and they brought her into her room.
As it turned out (“help is always given at Hogwarts to those who need it”) the nurse on duty for her surgery was a friend of hers from her tango community. And one of the reasons my mother wanted to have a hip replacement was so that she would be able to continue dancing tango–which she did for many years after her surgery. The nurse, her friend, and some one symbolic of the dancing she wanted to do when she was healed–held her hand while she went under the anesthesia, and she went under feeling safe and protected.
Closing Thoughts
There comes a moment, when we have prepared in every way possible, when it is time to let go. If you have spiritual beliefs, letting go with a prayer to whatever power you hold dear, can be an extremely resourcing way to go into the twilight zone, where your healing intervention can happen. And simply trusting in your own fate, in your own will and desire to heal and be whole can also be a good way to let go.
