Endolift in late 30s - more intense than I expected

I have always had a wide fleshy face and after I hit 36 I started to notice increasing mid-face sagging that resulted in deep nasolabial folds that could no longer be addressed with filler. I tried two sessions of HiFu and saw zero effect. Thread lifts sounded good but a few doctors discouraged me since the effects don't last and the material stays behind. I was scared of face lift downtime but heard of a laser option that seemed milder, with the added bonus of some targeted fat melting.
I booked this somewhat flippantly, expecting not much downtime and what little I could find online suggested I could resume activities in a day or two. The procedure was much more intense than I expected: it started with 6 cannulas deep into my face (like for a cheek filler) with ledocaine that stang as it dissipated. Afterwards I was grateful for the numbing since for the next 45 minutes my face was violently penetrated with a thin laser. It was tolerable but not comfortable, reminded me of cheek filler procedure but because of the length of it I didn't feel great. There were also some occasional hot spots and constant cracking of melting fat. If I had to do it again I would take a tranquiliser and some strong pain killer in advance. The doctor found that one side of my face had more fat and worked on it longer and also really focused on my jaw line to make it more defined. After the procedure my face looked really comical and double its size, with some scratch-mark looking lines that calmed down quickly. I felt very self-conscious and just wanted to get home and put some ice packs on.

I iced the night before, slept on two pillows wearing a bandage and still woke up comically swollen the next day. The face felt tight like a drum, still numb and hard to the touch. No visible bruising though. I also wasn't in any pain, just discomfort from the swelling.
The following day I had to be at work but the swelling didn't improve and I felt really self-conscious. I wore a mask at work all day and eventually all week. I didn't want to be around people due to feeling self-consious.

I was swollen all of the first week, with very marginal improvements. The swelling was strongest in the morning but better by night. My mood is very affected by how I look so mentally it was a struggle. I skipped any social functions including my usual group exercise and wore a mask around people.
Still no pain or discomfort but the face felt very numb, like when it was numbed by lidocaine. Hard to touch and I felt some hard lumps under the swelling. Still icing, wearing a bandage and tried my microcurrent device that felt very weird on a numb face.