[hinkley]

Talking about eye surgery is like nails on a chalkboard to me. I don’t want to talk about yours, let alone think about mine.

I have joked with my friends and family about giving them a limited power of attorney that in the case of eye or testicular surgery they can dose me with tranquilizers or anti anxiety meds without my knowledge and deliver me to the surgeon, having not told me that my surgery is today.

They’re not sure if I’m kidding, and neither am I.

[randcraw]

Have you tried watching videos of surgeries to see if you can acclimatize your fear? Starting with something trivial like a skin suture or mole removal might be tolerable. Exposure therapy is an established way to gradually inoculate yourself against a fear that seems inescapably overwhelming.

[ignoramous]

> Have you tried watching videos of surgeries to see if you can acclimatize your fear?

If you're anxious enough already, then: Don't. Ever. Do. This. Videos don't help, at all. And your brain is constantly thinking about ways things might have gone wrong, while simultaneously looking (no pun) for comments from people explaining how exactly things went wrong for them!