Stress Management During Cancer Treatment

Both diagnosis and treatment itself can be really overwhelming. When it comes to mental well-being we can’t belittle it and push it away. Long-term stress can negatively influence your health, so it’s really important to learn how to cope with it. The ways in which you deal with stress will vary from person to person

Relaxation techniques

There are many relaxation techniques both for the body and mind. Stress can influence not only your mental but also physical state. It generates tension that makes your muscle tighten, which sometimes result in pain in your back or by giving you a headache. We prepared a small list of things you can do to help yourself in relaxing.

• Autogenic training – it was invented by German psychiatrist Johannes Heinrich Schultz in 30s, and it’s still staying on a very high level of popularity. How does it work? Through a series of instructions that makes you focus on feeling of heaviness and warmth of different parts of the body. And what does it do? It encourages your body to make a natural relaxation response by slowing breathing and lowering blood pressure.
• Yoga – it is well known for it’s relaxing properties. Each of them vary by degree of difficulty but even the easiest of Asana can help you to release muscle tension that is often caused by stress. You don’t even need a lot of time. The effective practice can be done in 15 minutes.
• Meditation – it’s a great way of relaxing if you feel stressed or overwhelmed. Its advantage is that in fact you can do it anytime and anywhere. Probably it will be quite difficult at the beginning but don’t worry it’s a skill you need to learn like any other things and there is no such thing like perfect meditation.
• Relaxing music – you can find many playlists prepared specially for relaxation. They usually include slow and soothing instrumental tracks or sounds of nature (forest noises, water or raining sounds, birds chirping). It’s also a great idea to prepare a playlist with your favorite tracks that you can even sing along to.

Find some time for your hobby

At first sight, it might seem to be quite difficult to do something productive while feeling stressed. But once you try it, you will see how good impact it makes on your mood. You should choose some activity that makes you focus on something different and also give you opportunity to get some time for your own. Also, it’s a wonderful idea to choose creative activity, that the effects of which will be visible. Maybe you will discover a painter within you, or you will become a knitting master. In many cases, you can also invite family and friends to join you. A good example of such a hobby is arranging the puzzle or board games.

Keeping a journal

A wonderful way of coping with stress is writing down about your feelings, what caused them and how do they influence the state of your mind. Releasing thoughts is always a good idea, and it makes you understand them better.

Sharing your feelings

During hard times it’s really important to find a help - not only in daily chores but also for your mental well-being. Don’t hesitate to talk with your loved ones, maybe a friend or even somebody from a support group that you joined (if not, it’s really worth it). You also need to remember that not every person is appropriately prepared for emotional talks and that doesn’t mean they don’t care. The diagnosis can be as stressful for your closest ones as for you. In such situations you should consider reaching for the help of a specialist - a psychologist, that is trained in giving a helping hand to people that are coping with various mental problems.