Before my procedure I was a wreck, replaying every worst case at 3 a.m. Two things settled me. First, I wrote down every question, embarrassing or not, and asked them all at my pre-op appointment. Fear loves the unanswered. Second, I practiced box breathing, four counts in, hold, out, hold, every night for two weeks. When the nurses wheeled me back and my heart started to race, my body already knew the pattern. I walked in scared, but steady, and I came out the other side having learned that preparation is mostly calming the mind you will wake up with.
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