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Heart Surgery: Emotions and Relationships
Heart Surgery: Emotions and RelationshipsThe stresses of recovering from heart surgery and readjusting to everyday life can take its toll on your bodyand mind. You may experience feelings of sadness, depression and feeling like a burden to your family.“One day I was just really, really, down in the dumps, no reason. I mean nothing had happened oranything. It was just out of the blue. I was just down in the dumps.”Irritability, anxiety, memory loss, lack of concentration, and unusual dreams are all common after heart surgerybut should go away as you recover. If they don’t, talk to your cardiac care team. The different emotions youfeel as you recover are normal. But if they begin to affect your recovery you need to deal with them.For example, depression can cause you to skip your medication dose. You may be too depressed to get out ofbed, so you are not being active. You may not be able to concentrate on meeting your recovery goals. If yourecognize any of these examples in your own life, talk to your healthcare team immediately.Your spouse and loved ones may also experience different emotions after your heart surgery. They too areexperiencing heart surgery recovery.“It really does feel like it's a surgery on both people, uhm and important that you talk and that you, youknow, give hugs and- and stay connected those first couple of weeks post-op.”They may feel sad and depressed, anxious, over-protective, or even may think you should be back to normalalready. Talk with each other about your feelings. Communication and the support you give one another isimportant and can relieve some of the emotional stress that follows heart surgery.“In the case with my depression uhm I talked to several different people and that- that was a good startfor me, and I tried to just uhm once again be as positive as I could.”“By talking about the problem with-- you know, discussing with your friend- family, friends, and things,uh you know, that eases the pain then. And truthfully, then uh a few weeks or so, those- those feelingsare gone because you’re starting to feel better overall, your strength is coming back, and uh uh thatthat’s a temporary thing. You’ll get over that.”Don’t be afraid to find other sources of support as well. Community groups, church groups, cardiacrehabilitation programs and heart surgery support groups can help you express your feelings and learn fromothers. Talk to your cardiac care team to find support groups in your area. However, you are feeling, reach outto your family and loved ones to work through the emotions you experience as you recover from heart surgery.Together you can happily reach your recovery goals.This program is for informational purposes only. Publisher disclaims all guarantees regarding the accuracy, completeness,or suitability of this video for medical decision making. For all health related issues please contact your healthcare provider.HCHA10188B EN HeartSurgeryEmotionsAndRelationships.pdf© The Wellness NetworkPage 1 of 1
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