Written by Sharon Clare, Clinical Hypnotherapist
Sharon Clare is an accredited Solution-Focused Clinical Hypnotherapist. She is the founder of Sharon Clare Hypnotherapy, which helps professional women overcome stress, burnout, and sleep struggles using neuroscience-backed approaches to rewire how they think, feel, and respond to life. She also specialises in easing fears of surgery.
You’re lying in bed, but your mind won’t stop. What if something goes wrong? What if I don’t wake up? Your heart pounds as you imagine every possible complication. You try to distract yourself, but the thoughts keep pulling you back to the sterile lights, the cold operating room, the moment they put you under.
For some, this fear leads to sleepless nights and relentless worry. Others delay necessary procedures out of sheer panic. Then there are the endless internet searches scanning horror stories, looking for reassurance but only finding more reasons to be afraid.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. Surgery anxiety is real, but it doesn’t have to control you. Keep reading to discover why your mind reacts this way and how mindfulness and hypnosis can help you approach surgery feeling calm and confident.
Why does surgery trigger anxiety?
Your brain is wired for survival. When faced with something unfamiliar or potentially threatening, like surgery, your primitive brain activates the fight-or-flight response. This part of your mind doesn’t analyse situations rationally. It reacts as if you’re in immediate danger, flooding your body with stress hormones like adrenaline and cortisol.
Even though surgery is a planned event, your mind perceives it as a threat. What if something goes wrong? What if I wake up during the procedure? These thoughts can quickly spiral, making the experience feel far more daunting than it needs to be. The more you focus on them, the stronger the fear becomes, like a snowball rolling downhill, gaining speed with every anxious thought.
But just as your mind can spiral into fear, it can also be trained to spiral into calm. That’s where mindfulness and hypnosis come in. Before we explore those techniques, let’s look at how pre-surgery anxiety can present itself.
Recognising pre-surgery anxiety
Surgery Anxiety doesn’t just affect your thoughts. It affects your entire body. Imagine standing at the edge of a high diving board, looking down at the water below. Your mind is racing, your body tenses and every instinct tells you to back away. Surgery anxiety can feel just like that: a fear of the unknown, amplified by the body’s stress response.
It may show up as physical symptoms like a racing heart, nausea, or trouble sleeping. Mentally, you may find yourself obsessively worrying about the procedure, struggling to focus on anything else. Emotionally, you might feel tearful, irritable, or even tempted to cancel the surgery altogether.
These responses are not “just in your head” they are real, biological reactions to fear. But the good news is that your brain is adaptable. Mindfulness and hypnosis can shift your response from fear to calm, preparing both your mind and body for surgery in a positive way.
Surgery anxiety is more common than you think
If you’re feeling nervous about an upcoming surgery, you’re not alone. Fear of surgery, also known as pre-operative anxiety, affects millions of people. You may worry about the procedure itself, the anaesthesia, or the recovery process. While some level of nervousness is normal, excessive anxiety can make the experience feel overwhelming and even impact surgical outcomes.
How anxiety affects surgery and recovery
According to the National Institutes for Health (NIH) high levels of pre-operative anxiety can have a significant impact on surgery and recovery. Anxiety heightens the brain’s sensitivity to pain, making post-surgical discomfort feel more intense. The release of stress hormones like cortisol can also slow down the body’s natural healing process, potentially delaying recovery.
Studies suggest that anxious patients often experience increased heart rate and higher blood pressure, which can raise the risk of complications during and after surgery. Severe anxiety may also lead to a greater need for anaesthesia and post-operative pain medication, as heightened stress response makes it harder for the body to relax. In some cases, anxiety can even prolong hospital stays, delaying recovery further.
The good news? You don’t have to let anxiety take over. Mindfulness and Hypnosis can rewire your brain’s response to surgery, reducing fear and supporting a smoother recovery.
Mindfulness: Staying present instead of overthinking
Anxiety about surgery often stems from fear of the unknown, imagining worst-case scenarios, or worrying about things outside of your control. Mindfulness offers a way to break this cycle by bringing your focus back to the present moment. Rather than getting lost in "what ifs," mindfulness helps you stay grounded in what is actually happening right now.
By practicing mindfulness, you can calm your nervous system and reduce stress hormones, making it easier for your body and mind to relax. It also helps prevent catastrophic thinking, stopping anxious thoughts before they spiral.
Mindfulness can take many forms, from focusing on your breath to using guided visualisation techniques. Even just a few minutes a day can create a powerful shift, helping you feel more in control as your surgery date approaches.
Hypnosis: Rewiring your brain for a positive experience
Hypnosis is not about losing control, it about regaining control over your thoughts and emotions. Through guided relaxation and mental imagery, hypnosis can help shift your perspective on surgery, turning fear into confidence.
Research has shown that hypnosis before surgery can significantly reduce preoperative anxiety and stress levels. A study published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology found that patients who used hypnosis before surgery reported lower anxiety, needed less pain medication, and experienced faster recovery times. Another study in The Lancet showed that surgical patients who received hypnosis had reduced pain perception and shorter hospital stays.
Listening to a guided hypnosis audio designed for surgery preparation can be incredibly effective. Hypnosis helps the mind and body work together, reinforcing a sense of calm and control. The more you practice, the more your brain adapts, creating new neural pathways that make it easier to stay relaxed before, during, and after surgery.
Combining mindfulness and hypnosis for maximum benefit
Mindfulness and hypnosis work by training your brain to stay calm and focused instead of spiralling into fear. Used together, they create a powerful shift, reducing fear of the unknown, lowering stress hormones, and instilling a sense of confidence.
The more you practice these techniques, the easier it becomes to approach surgery with a clear mind and a steady heart. Instead of feeling trapped by anxiety, you can step into your procedure knowing that you have the tools to manage your emotions and support your recovery.
Final thoughts: You are more resilient than you think
Surgery can feel intimidating, but you have the ability to navigate this experience with confidence. Mindfulness and hypnosis offer practical, proven ways to reduce anxiety, shift your mindset, and make the process feel easier. By training your brain to respond calmly, you can transform fear into confidence before, during, and after your surgery.
Let’s work together to help you feel calm and in control
Are you ready to take control of your mind and face surgery with confidence? Whether you need guided hypnosis, a structured self-help approach, personalised advice or one-on-one support, I’m here to help. Together, we can ease your fears, rewire anxious thoughts, and create a sense of calm that stays with you before, during, and after your procedure.
Start with my hypnosis audio, join my self-directed course, or book a private session tailored to your needs. Take the first step today and give yourself the peace of mind you deserve.
Read more from Sharon Clare
Sharon Clare, Clinical Hypnotherapist
Sharon Clare is an accredited Solution-Focused Clinical Hypnotherapist specialising in mindfulness and stress management. She combines her expertise with decades of leadership experience in the NHS and not-for-profit sector to support her professional clients. Leading a social care organisation through COVID was an immense responsibility that deepened her understanding of stress and resilience, She also has a passion for helping people overcome fears around surgery and medical procedures. She volunteers at her local cancer care centre. When she's not helping others, Sharon can be found sea swimming year-round on the beautiful Northern Irish coast - a ritual that continues to keep stress at bay. Her mission: Helping Women Thrive.
