A woman discusses the emotional upheaval after surgery, when your body and identity shift. She argues that building self-love before the procedure helps you adjust after, and that a supportive partner or friends matter more than you'd think. Recovery can become a path to knowing yourself better.
And I think a lot of women that I spoke to, you know, while I was making my decision, that was a lot of the through line I heard was like, I didn't know how hard it was going to be for me after to go through like re loving myself and like falling back in love with my body and getting to know this body that doesn't look the way that I've been used to looking for 10, 15, 20 years. And. And so I think the amount of work you can do to really fall in love with who you are prior to the surgery will exponentially help your healing journey because you won't be so self identified around my breast being a source of value and yeah, who I am, like, they're not who you are. Right. And so I do think that is really important. I think environment is really important for patients as well, like anyone considering this, to really have a powerful support system. If you don't have a spouse, friends that really are there for you and celebrate who you are and you know, not the vanity aspect of who you are, but the deeper aspect of who you are, it's huge. And again, it's, it's just like, you know, it's. I've given, you know, I've got four kids, I've given birth multiple times. And it's the same thing that happens in motherhood. It's like there's an identity crisis after each baby is born because you're now this new person with a new person and a new body and new healing that has to happen. And so for anyone who has gone through the birthing process, it's much like that. On the other side of the surgery is you kind of wake up and you go, okay, there's some work here to get to know who I am now outside of being a woman who has implants. And it's liberating if you, if you look at it that way, it is a liberating and beautiful initiation into a deeper understanding of who you are. And I think it can really be that powerful initiation for people if they choose to take it and see it that way.
