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Question Title	Posted By	Question Date
preparing for surgery	Lyn	Sunday, October 2, 2011
Question: Dear Bro. Ignatius Mary, Thank you for answering my question of 5/21 about my "alarming habits". I am still working on the 7 Steps and have prayed the Rebuking Prayer, but I need to persevere in these. What happens is that my mind will start drifting, say when I am washing the dishes, into thoughts of self-criticism and the tension will build in this dream-like state to where I can't take it anymore, and then I yell, "No" or other derogatory exclamations. So, the outburst then brings me back into a normal state of mind, but it is too late to prevent the outburst. It is very upsetting to my husband, so I hope to overcome this, with God's help. My question is about preparing for a surgery that I am having for endometriosis later this month. I have a book called "Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster" written by a psychotherapist. It has very practical suggestions about vitamins to take and ones to avoid, which is consistent with what my doctor has told me. One of the steps also involves asking the anesthesiologist to repeat several statements during the surgery, such as "Following this operation, you will feel comfortable and you will heal very well." and "Your operation has gone very well." etc. These statements are said to improve outcome with less need for pain medication and better recovery. Also, there is a relaxation CD that involves visualization of a positive outcome. This is said to put the patient in a relaxed state before surgery and will cause them to need less anesthesia. Also, the book suggests having a group of friends/family pray during the surgery for it to go well. I am praying for St. Gianna Molla's intercession. Do you think these are acceptable to help prepare for surgery? Thank you, Bro. Ignatius Mary and God bless you.
Question Answered by Dear Lyn: As you mentioned perseverance is the key. If you can I would also suggest that you repeat to yourself a positive affirmation when you get these negative thoughts. For example, if you get a thought that is self-critical you could repeat to yourself "I am a child of God", "I am blessed by God", etc. I would recommend that you do more than just that. In the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance there is an exercise in Step 3 called, Litany of Who I Am in Christ. I would recommend that you and pray that litany on a daily basis for a while. As for the surgical affirmations and relaxation techniques, if all the anesthesiologist says are things like "Following this operation, you will feel comfortable and you will heal very well." and "Your operation has gone very well" it should be okay. The relaxation CD, on the other hand, may be a problem depending on what is. I might suggest an alternative to listen to Gregorian Chant. Gregorian Chant should relax you and will certainly be safer than some unknown, and probably New Age music. You certainly should have family and friends praying for you during the surgery. This should be a standard practice among Christians. We will certainly be praying for you. God Bless, Bro. Ignatius Mary For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.

Question Title

Posted By

Question Date

preparing for surgery

Lyn

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Question:

Dear Bro. Ignatius Mary,

Thank you for answering my question of 5/21 about my "alarming habits". I am still working on the 7 Steps and have prayed the Rebuking Prayer, but I need to persevere in these. What happens is that my mind will start drifting, say when I am washing the dishes, into thoughts of self-criticism and the tension will build in this dream-like state to where I can't take it anymore, and then I yell, "No" or other derogatory exclamations. So, the outburst then brings me back into a normal state of mind, but it is too late to prevent the outburst. It is very upsetting to my husband, so I hope to overcome this, with God's help.

My question is about preparing for a surgery that I am having for endometriosis later this month. I have a book called "Prepare for Surgery, Heal Faster" written by a psychotherapist. It has very practical suggestions about vitamins to take and ones to avoid, which is consistent with what my doctor has told me. One of the steps also involves asking the anesthesiologist to repeat several statements during the surgery, such as "Following this operation, you will feel comfortable and you will heal very well." and "Your operation has gone very well." etc. These statements are said to improve outcome with less need for pain medication and better recovery. Also, there is a relaxation CD that involves visualization of a positive outcome. This is said to put the patient in a relaxed state before surgery and will cause them to need less anesthesia. Also, the book suggests having a group of friends/family pray during the surgery for it to go well. I am praying for St. Gianna Molla's intercession. Do you think these are acceptable to help prepare for surgery?

Thank you, Bro. Ignatius Mary and God bless you.

Question Answered by

Dear Lyn:

As you mentioned perseverance is the key. If you can I would also suggest that you repeat to yourself a positive affirmation when you get these negative thoughts. For example, if you get a thought that is self-critical you could repeat to yourself "I am a child of God", "I am blessed by God", etc.

I would recommend that you do more than just that. In the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance there is an exercise in Step 3 called, Litany of Who I Am in Christ. I would recommend that you and pray that litany on a daily basis for a while.

As for the surgical affirmations and relaxation techniques, if all the anesthesiologist says are things like "Following this operation, you will feel comfortable and you will heal very well." and "Your operation has gone very well" it should be okay.

The relaxation CD, on the other hand, may be a problem depending on what is. I might suggest an alternative to listen to Gregorian Chant. Gregorian Chant should relax you and will certainly be safer than some unknown, and probably New Age music.

You certainly should have family and friends praying for you during the surgery. This should be a standard practice among Christians.

We will certainly be praying for you.

God Bless,
Bro. Ignatius Mary

For information on how to receive help see our Help page. We suggest that before contacting us directly for help you try the Seven Steps to Self-Deliverance. These self-help steps will often resolve the problem. Also our Spiritual Warfare Prayer Catalog contains many prayers that may be helpful. If needed you can ask for a Personal Consultation.