Mental health issues can be tricky to talk about - somehow it feels more respectable to have a physical problem with your body than to have issues with how we're feeling!

What we know from pain neuroscience research though is that how you're feeling has a whole lot to do with how much energy, motivation, hopefulness and of course how much pain you feel.

In fact being anxious or depressed can make it three times more likely that pain will carry on after an operation or injury!   

So what can you do about that?

First of all it can be worth having a check on indicators of anxiety or depression - the tests below are not going to give you a diagnosis - but they can give you an idea of whether you might tend towards worrying or feeling down.

Second, you can use cognitive behavioural techniques to help you feel better in yourself as you prepare for your operation.