I coped by blanking it out of my mind pretty much. I was shitting myself (sorry) as that was my first time under GA at the age of 65!! The surgeon kept asking me, "and you have NEVER had a GA up to now, none, never broken a bone, had gallstones out etc. etc." It was no, no no and he laughed out loud, and put me at ease.
I took it one day at a time. I was nervous, but somehow or other when the time comes to go to theatre a calm comes over you (well it did to me), there's no going back now, lol and I knew I was in good hands. I just lay there, the anaesthetist was behind my head and was very reassuring. There is a lot of activity in the room as there are nurses, docs, anaesthetists and god knows who all working together to make sure it all goes smoothly. And it did. I just remember the anaesthetist saying some soothing words and next thing I was back in the ward feeling floaty and a bit stoned, but fine.
I had cardiac surgery, a pretty big thing for me, but routine for them! That's what I remember if I ever have to have a GA again! They will give you plenty of advice and information about what to do (and not to do) during the recovery period.
It's normal to be nervous, don't let anyone tell you otherwise, but you will be in the hands of people who have trained for many years to do this. Good luck and hope you have a speedy recovery.