The Emotional First Aid Kit

I just finished the book The Emotional First + Aid Kit: A Practical Guide to Life After Bariatric Surgery by Cynthia L. Alexander, PsyD (Yes, the book has the plus sign, but Amazon lists it without...look at the cover shot from the link!)

It's a great guide for people who are considering bariatric surgery or are nearing the time for their surgery. It isn't anything I'd consider breakthrough; it's more of a personal coach to reiterate what your surgeons and support group will tell you about the surgery and life changes that go hand in hand with the surgery. It has several small case studies and tips sprinkled in text boxes throughout and many large-print repeats of sound bytes for inspiration and memorization. The book also has several exercises to follow, such as writing a pros and cons grid if you're on the fence about having the surgery.

The book explores the decision to have surgery, self-talk about the surgery and your weight, a plan to handle yourself in different situations after the surgery such as family dinners, and beginning a consistent exercise program and how relationships can change post-operatively (or post-weight change). There are also chapters dealing with depression and how the patient and other people react to the weight loss, as well as handling relapses and how to affect a change in behaviors and habits, as those will help or hinder your weight loss and weight maintenance success (the book differentiates between weight loss and weight maintenance, as many people are successful at weight loss...they just go "off" their diet and regain the excess weight.

At approximately 163 pages the book is a relatively quick read and is a good refresher of the information that patients should have received, but may not have or may not have listened to, as they went through the process of having the surgery. I recommend it to anyone about to go through the process as there aren't too many guides like this out there tailored specifically to bariatric patients.

Edit: The book does not cover information on addiction transfer, a phenomena I recently blogged about; I am beginning to suspect that this area of study is only recently gaining attention as a phenomena for bariatric patients...but still the book does contain useful information for anyone undergoing the surgery. Perhaps someday an updated edition could be released...I wonder if I could contact the author and find out?