Mental Health

People tend to think that FFS surgery expectations are only related to the outcomes of surgery. Understandably, your and your family's expectations may also be related to how you think life will be different with a more feminine face. These pre-existing (sometimes unconscious) assumptions have the purpose of motivating us. They may be beneficial if the expectations of facial feminization surgery results are based on reality. However, such hopes can be misleading if unrealistic. Do I have realist

Your mental health in gender surgery is important to being as prepared as possible for the stressors you will face.  We all have low moments throughout our lives, mainly due to external stressors. The nature of our most depressed times is best explained through our own ways of managing them. Here we are referring to extreme emotional difficulty: when anxiety is through the roof, we are constantly nervous and agitated, or we feel so sad that there is barely strength to continue. In the worst of c

Not surprisingly, one of the greatest fears of patients before surgery is postoperative depression. It is understandable and fortunately there is an abundance of information available online about this topic. With this post, we hope to help facial feminisation patients manage the sometimes intense feelings that arise while recuperating, such as postop depression in facial gender surgery. Our psychologist, Marina Rodriguez, defines postoperative depression, differentiates it from the more typical

Nerves before facial surgery is one of the most common issues any FFS patient will encounter as the day approaches.  It requires great patience until the much awaited-for day finally arrives after many months of preparation. The 10th of October is World Mental Health Day, a program begun in 1992 by the World Federation of Mental Health (WFMH). For this reason, today we launch the first of a 4-part series in support of the mental health of our patients. Our psychologist, Marina Rodriguez, will be

Here, we continue with the second post of a 4-part series on Mental & Emotional Health in honor of World Mental Health Day this October 2020. Our psychologist, Marina Rodriguez has compiled a list of some of the typical emotions after facial gender surgery and how to deal with them. It’s important to look after your mental health when going through a life-changing experience such as FFS Surgery. Either positive or negative, recognizing the emotions as a normal part of the facial feminisation

Dear Patient, I am Marina Rodríguez, psychologist and postop care coordinator for FACIALTEAM. Below I will share a few relaxation techniques which can be practiced before and after facial feminization surgery to alleviate sensations of anxiety which commonly arise during this emotional step in your transition. Relaxation techniques to reach our goal Being able to stay calm before such step in your life is essential for a successful surgery preparation. It is also the key for a smooth postop peri