Cancer is a demanding spiritual quest. First, people often turn to medicine for help and healing. They try all sorts of things, fitness, healthy eating; some even turn to religion when dealing with cancer. Often, when patients are first diagnosed, they cannot come to wits with reality immediately. Many people who are diagnosed with cancer even fall ill with severe depression.
Depression is one of the most common mental disorders faced by people with cancer. The development of depression increases the risk of a cancer patient dying. Moreover, depression is not only a painful process but the least viable mindset one needs to have when combating a serious health challenge.
Although cancer is can be very mentally taxing, that does not mean that one needs to simply surrender to it and fall victim to depression. Here are five mental well-being tips for coping with your diagnosis.
Autosuggestion
Autosuggestion involves self-induced thoughts, emotions, and behavior. Autosuggestion is somewhat of a placebo. It requires an individual to relax and envision themselves in a situation better than the one they are currently in. Autosuggestion is frequently accompanied by relaxation based exercises. It’s quite simple, just imagine yourself to be in a quiet place, for example, nearby a lake or a brook, then envision your tumor.
Then imagine how it’s becoming smaller by the second, falling away and no longer striking at the healthy cells of your body. Imagine that it is growing weaker and dying away. It has been noted than individuals who practice autosuggestion have seen significant results in remaining healthy while struggling with cancer. Autosuggestion has also shown to help cancer patients block away from the feelings of darkness and suffering.
A Combination of Individual and Group Therapies
A combination of individual and group therapy support sessions can prove to be very healthy for maintaining a proper state of mental health during one’s battle with cancer. Individual classes with psychologists, as a rule, have been proven to be very helpful in improving one’s mental state and behavior.
Group therapy sessions provide the necessary emotional support that an individual might be in desperate need of when struggling with cancer. For group therapy sessions to be as efficient as possible, they should be held by and visited by people suffering from the same disease.
Family therapy
Family therapy sessions are another great method for attaining mental wellness when struggling through cancer. Families are counseled by a mental health professional. Family therapy sessions help enforce trust and improve one’s overall spirit and happiness, which is crucial for cancer patients.
Willpower
There are patients who respond to treatment better than others. Some patients may respond to certain treatments better than others; the same goes for willpower, it varies from patient to patient. Willpower is the desire and focus on achieving a specific goal or aim. Cancer patients should devote their focus and mental concentration towards overcoming their health ailment.
A strong desire to overcome cancer can prove to a source of great inner strength. Ones will to live becomes stronger when there is an aim or goal that is being pursued. A will to live becomes stronger when a person has something to live for. However, feigning optimism doesn’t exactly help. The loss of interest in life can also play a big role in one’s ability to fight their disease. Therefore, it is necessary to develop enough willpower to say no to cancer and continue enjoying life and being happy despite the odds.
Relaxation
The body’s natural ability to heal itself is phenomenal. We are so used to it that we frequently take it for granted. However, we shouldn’t, because our body is truly a miracle. For the body’s healing processes to function normally, a few necessary conditions must be maintained. Such as balance, harmony, and a calm state of mind. A healthy body with a healthy and relaxed state of mind is much less susceptible to cancer.
There is a very close connection between the state of our mind and the state of our bodies. When we are experiencing mental and emotional comfort, our bodies are also relaxed. If, on the contrary, we are disturbed and under the influence of stress and depression our body begins to suffer, and changes at the biochemical level happen as well. Maintaining a relaxed state of mind, and not falling victim to emotion and stress is crucial towards being able to more effectively cope with cancer.
