Why You May Be Depressed After Surgery and How to Cope

Why Depression After Surgery Can Happen

A Disrupted Routine

"Most of the normal daily activities that contribute to a sense of wellbeing are disrupted," says G. Thomas Shires III, MD, a general surgeon at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas and Texas Health Physicians Group. You might be confined to bed, unable to engage in your normal routine or do activities without a lot of help. You may have to eat different foods or spend lots of time caring for wounds or doing exercises to help you heal.

Being in Pain

It's easy for your mood to sink when you're physically uncomfortable, and medications used to manage pain can affect mood. The problem can be compounded if your pain is making it hard to sleep. And if you're anxious over your recovery or how the surgery will affect your health condition, that can play in too.

"Emotional stress related to the diagnosis or treatment can increase the risk of postoperative depression," Dr. Childs says.

Symptoms of Post-Surgery Depression

Depression, whether caused by surgery or something else, often manifests with similar symptoms, Dr. Childs explains. Per the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), these may include:

  • Persistently feeling sad, anxious or empty
  • Feeling hopeless or pessimistic, particularly about your diagnosis or recovery
  • Irritability
  • Loss of interest in the things you normally enjoy
  • Lack of energy
  • Trouble concentrating, remembering or making decisions
  • Trouble sleeping
  • Changes in appetite or weight
  • Unusual aches or pains

Some of the symptoms that are a normal part of surgery recovery can overlap with depression. "Easy fatigue, irritability, altered appetite and sleep disruption are all common to the early postoperative period as well as depression," Dr. Shires says. But if you continue experiencing these symptoms for more than two weeks after surgery, depression could be the culprit.

It's worth pointing out too that depression can take different forms for different people. "It looks different for everyone and can look different for each person at different points in their life," says Morgan Levy, PhD, a psychologist in Boca Raton, Florida. For some, "postoperative depression could show up as an increased sense of vulnerability because the body is in a vulnerable state," she explains.

How to Manage Depression After Surgery

Turn to Typical Depression Treatments

Depression is typically treated with talk therapy, medication or a combination of the two, according to the NIMH. That's also the case for depression that develops after surgery — and with the right therapy, most patients find that their depression goes away within six months, according to the ​Expert Opinion on Drug Safety​ study.

"My best advice is to reach out to a medical professional and mental health expert for treatment," says Levy, who notes that talking with an expert specializing in healthy psychology could be especially helpful.

Start Early

Taking preventive measures before surgery can make a difference too. For starters, be aware of your risk factors and discuss them with your surgeon, Levy advises.

If you already have symptoms of depression or anxiety, surgery could make them worse. You may also be at higher risk if you have a family history of depression or lack a strong support system to help you with your recovery. In some cases, you may be able to put a preventive plan in place to start talking with a therapist shortly after surgery, as soon as you're up to it.

Get Support

Setting the stage for success pre-surgery also helps.

"A strong support system can alleviate the isolation of recovery and anxiety about life requirements that are temporarily out of the patient's control," Dr. Shires says.

You could plan to have someone be available to sit and keep you company for an hour every afternoon or arrange for someone to bring groceries once a week, for instance.

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