3 Tips For Helping Someone Maintain Their Sanity While Recovering From Surgery

For many people, having to be cooped up at home all day after a surgery can get old pretty quickly. In addition to not feeling well or still being in pain after a surgery, just the monotony of your days and not being able to take care of yourself can be very hard for many people to cope with. And because of this, it’s not uncommon for people’s mental health to take a hit as they’re recovering from surgery or some other medical procedure. 

So if you have someone in your life that’s about to go through this, be it someone who’s currently living with you or a elderly loved one in an assisted living facility, here are three tips for helping someone maintain their sanity while recovering from surgery. 

Help Provide Them With Entertainment

Once the initial pain subsides from their surgery or other procedure, what many people find helpful as they’re still recovering at home is to have some form of entertainment. Especially if they’re stuck in bed or on a couch, having something fun that can keep them entertained and pass the time can be a great way to help your loved one maintain their sanity.

Depending on the age and interest of your loved one, you might want to do something like bring in a video game system for them to play, subscribe to a few new streaming services, introduce them to your favorite books or podcasts, and teach them how to do a new hobby with their hands. 

Be A Positive Presence For Them

When the recovery process is going to take a long time and have a drastic impact on their life, it’s only normal for this type of thing to have a negative impact on their outlook from time to time. And while you might be able to recognize this and see how bleak their situation might be right now, something helpful that you can do for their sanity is to try to be a positive presence for them.

While you can swing too far in the other direction and just be annoying or make them feel like you’re not accepting their reality, being able to be a more subtle positive presence that helps them feel like things will improve and that they’re not forgotten can help them to feel more positive and keep their mental health at a more positive level during this time. 

Do Something To Break Up The Monotony

As was mentioned above, the monotony of recovering at home can be hard for many people. So if you want to be helpful, you can find ways that you can break up this monotony. 

To do this, consider what they’re capable of right now and what you can bring into their life that will add a little excitement or just something new. This might be helping them get outside for a few minutes, playing some games with them, or just sitting and talking with them in person. 

If you want to help a loved one make it through a time of physical recovery with minimal impact on their mental health, consider using the tips mentioned above to be of service to them.