Dr. Betty Murray grew up avoiding medical care as a Christian Scientist and still feels nervous about surgical implants. She reframes them as becoming "bionic" to shift from fear to acceptance, and explains how negativity bias and the healthy user bias make surgery feel scarier than it is.
You know, the other thing that I think people are very nervous about is having a foreign device in their body. Let me just clarify, I was raised Christian Scientist. I didn't even see a doctor until I was 18. So the idea of like sticking new body parts in, I'm like, and I joke and I'm like, man, make this thing bionic, dude.
That's the mind shift. So I was avoiding the surgery, so I would look for anything that was bad about surgeries. You know, it's the bias. What is it? The negativity bias or—
Yeah, the healthy user bias.
Confirmation bias. Confirmation bias. So I was looking for that. And then of course, when I'd interview somebody who says, oh, you shouldn't get dental implants, you shouldn't— like anything metal inside you is really bad and that's not great. And then when you think about the people who beep when they go through the airport security, I'm like, no way, that's not going to be me. That is probably really bad for you. And then you have to accept that there are more benefits to risks to a surgery. And that's what I did. And when I accepted that, I was, the confirmation bias went completely the other way. And I found all the good stories about surgeries and the positive outcomes. And I called myself bionic. I've said, I've got new body parts and I'm just, the whole Jamie Sommers thing is in my head. Yeah. The bionic woman. And that helped, I think it really helps the mindset and you get much more positive about it. You're not resisting anymore. It's when you've accepted that that's— this is it, then you can't wait for that surgery. You're like, when am I— book me in like tomorrow.
