A few weeks ago my counsellor asked if I was most worried about the time before, during or after my surgery. I said I would be ok during the surgery since I would be asleep & that what was most worrying me was beforehand when I had to sit in the waiting room. I was quite terrified of the waiting part because it really didn't seem possible that I would be able to sit in the waiting room without turning into a gibbering wreck.
As it turned out I was ok - since the part I was dreading was the waiting room it meant that when I got to the waiting room I wasn't waiting for the scary part anymore, it was happening and so I could deal with it.
Now, I am in the recovering from surgery stage. Which basically consists of sitting around waiting to be better.