The One Thing Every Patient Should Do Before Plastic Surgery

People are who thinking about plastic surgery are often given a laundry list of things to do before the surgery to get ready. Your surgeon will most likely recommend avoiding certain medications, quitting smoking, and finding someone to accompany you to the surgical center.

While that to do list focuses on the things you need to do to physically prepare for surgery, it omits one important, emotional consideration. Before deciding to have facial plastic surgery, it’s important to make sure you feel confident in yourself and that your self-esteem is at a healthy level.

Sometimes, surgeons refer to confidence has having manageable or reasonable expectations for the surgery. For example, you can’t expect plastic surgery to turn you into a celebrity or to eliminate all of the problems from your life. If you feel bad about who you are, having surgery won’t necessarily make you feel better, because it might not be the panacea you had hoped for. Before you schedule a consultation with a surgeon, it can help to make sure your confidence is at a healthy level and that you really like who you are.

Once you like yourself for yourself, you can decide to have surgery to improve areas that you might not be that happy about.

Focus on the Good

If you are constantly down on yourself, or regularly focus on your flaws, it can be difficult to zoom in on the good things about yourself. But, it is worth a try. Every day, stand in front of a mirror and list one thing you like about yourself. At the beginning, depending on how low your self-esteem is, it can be a real challenge to think of even one thing.

To make it easier, try to think of something small. For example, you can remind yourself that you’re always on time for events and meetings. Another option is to focus on a feature you are proud of. If you don’t like your nose, look at your hair. Maybe you have soft, long, full hair. If you aren’t happy with your hair, look at your skin, teeth, lips, or even a tiny freckle. It doesn’t matter how small the feature is, as long as you recognize that you like it.

Another way to boost your self-esteem and confidence before you even consider plastic surgery is to make a list of what’s good about you. Think of the things you’ve achieved in life, what you’re good at, and what people admire about you. You can ask friend and family for help with that last one. Hearing others tell you that they think you are smart, friendly, or helpful can be very helpful when it comes to increasing your confidence.

Take Care of Yourself

The better care you take of yourself, the better your plastic surgery results will be and the less likely you’ll be to experience complications. Taking care of yourself can also help improve your self-esteem. It’s easy to feel that you’re unattractive or unlovable when your hair is a tangled mess, you’ve been wearing the same sweats for three days, and you’ve neglected your skincare.

Simply brushing your hair, putting on some moisturizer and wearing fitted clothes can do a lot to make you feel better. For one thing, when you care about your looks, you tend to look better.

Taking care of yourself doesn’t only mean combing your hair and wearing real clothes. It also means making sure you eat a balanced diet. Getting the nutrients your body needs can help you feel better both physically and emotionally. A healthy diet also helps you maintain or lose weight, and can help your body heal more quickly if you do have surgery.

Plastic Surgery and Self Confidence

A number of studies from the US and Europe have looked at patient’s confidence levels before and after plastic surgery, to see how they compare. Usually, patients feel better about themselves and report an improvement in their quality of life after surgery.

But, the confidence needs to be there before surgery. If you dislike yourself a lot, getting a new nose or larger breasts won’t make you like yourself. When you are already happy with who you are, changing something about your physical appearance can make you like yourself even more, leading to a better life overall.

If you are considering facial plastic surgery, but aren’t sure if your expectations are reasonable or aren’t sure if you’re a good candidate at the moment, scheduling a consultation with a board certified facial plastic surgeon, such as Dr. Frederick Weniger, in Bluffton, SC can be a great idea. To schedule an appointment at Weniger Plastic Surgery, call (843) 757-0123 today.