Feeling prepared, calm, and informed can help with anxiety about anesthesia. The sources say that preoperative education can reduce anxiety, and that videos, pamphlets, tours, role-playing, behavior modeling, and workshops may help. Other helpful steps include distraction, like books, music, games, or coloring, and relaxation methods such as breathing exercises, mindfulness, visualization, guided imagery, yoga, or hypnosis. For children, age-appropriate play, dolls, pictures, and familiar items from home can also help. Parents staying calm matters too, because children often take cues from them.

For children, it also helps to use simple, honest words. Say the child will take a nap after medicine from a special physician and will not feel anything during surgery. Avoid scary or confusing words like “put you to sleep.” The sources also say not to go into too much detail and not to dismiss fears.

If you are feeling anxious yourself, planning ahead for the day of surgery and using a relaxation recording before surgery may help. Verify the exact plan with your surgical or anesthesia team in case they want something different for you.