How to Cope with Stress - Surviving Cancer and Other Scary Stuff
Many are dealing with the stress from life changing events and uncertainty in their lives right now. Stress causes the following feelings and not only results in anxiety and mental anguish, they affect the body physically and manifest in a variety of physical ailments.
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Powerlessness - The feeling you can't do anything about it
Distrust - From having been misled, lied to
Hopelessness - The absence of the belief of a good outcome
Fear - From what will happen next
Loss - Losing the sense of being ok, the feeling of security
Worry - Negative thoughts turning over and over in the mind
In 2009 I was diagnosed with late stage ovarian cancer at 45 years old. After a sudden decline in my health and a grueling six month search for diagnosis, followed by aggressive treatment and a long recovery period, I can say that I have some experience with the above feelings and the stress issue. Here are the things I discovered that helped me cope with stress, and helped me live in a positive place with peace of mind, despite what was going on.*
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| I felt the healing power of nature in the woods. |
1) I discovered that the mind and body are connected.
I know that we have all heard this before, but I can't tell you how profound this connection is. If I was not physically moving about, I would fall into a dark pit of despair. Physical activity helped me feel more hopeful, and lessened the feelings of fear and worry.
I know that we have all heard this before, but I can't tell you how profound this connection is. If I was not physically moving about, I would fall into a dark pit of despair. Physical activity helped me feel more hopeful, and lessened the feelings of fear and worry.
I looked into many ways to relieve the physical effects of stress from my body, so my mental state could be a peaceful, positive one such as walking, being outside in nature, and yoga. I did what I could, when I could. I started by crawling in my bedroom to strengthen and stretch my muscles to slowly walking a mile by the end of my treatment. The important thing is the effect it had on my mental state and peace of mind.
Activities I have enjoyed to physically release the tension and stress residing in my body are yoga, walking, swimming, karate, breathing exercises, singing, etc. Pairing that with a relaxation technique such as meditation, prayer, reiki, or massage brought me peace of mind. I did not do all these at once, nor was I able to do some of them for years. It was 3 years after diagnosis before I returned to karate. I did what I could.
2) During the hardest days, I felt the most positive.
I knew that I had to have this mindset, otherwise the pit of despair would be difficult to turn around, and the negative feelings would contribute a negative physical effect. It was a choice. I was completely resolved to take an active role, search, and do the work to heal.
I knew that I had to have this mindset, otherwise the pit of despair would be difficult to turn around, and the negative feelings would contribute a negative physical effect. It was a choice. I was completely resolved to take an active role, search, and do the work to heal.
Being positive does not mean ignoring reality. It is believing that there will be a good outcome and having hope, which gives us the courage to make it happen. Some call it faith.
3) I did something about it.
This is where the courage comes into play, powered by hope. I did not stop looking for solutions during the entire process. When they said there was nothing wrong, I kept looking for an answer - for 6 months - even when I felt like quitting. I did not take chemo therapy side effects lying down. I looked for ways to minimize their effects. Taking an action, no matter how small to improve the situation, often brought improvement to how I felt. That, in turn, gave me more hope and more courage.
4) I had to continue managing stress after treatment.
Just because, chemo therapy was done, did not mean, POOF!, all is back to normal. Have you ever heard of new normal? Life was different. My body was recovering for years. It was work. I had to make decisions and build a new life. I was starting over.
This meant that stress management had to continue. I still do something every day to help cope with the stresses of life.
I worked to retain my power, trust, hope, courage, peace of mind. And eventually after many years, I began to wake up in the morning and feel normal again.
*Disclaimer:
Information in this website/blog is not intended to cure or treat any disease. I am not a doctor. I am not a therapist. Check with your doctor before starting any activity/exercise program. Any action taken based on information or opinions on this website/blog, comments, or its links is at your own risk.
3) I did something about it.
This is where the courage comes into play, powered by hope. I did not stop looking for solutions during the entire process. When they said there was nothing wrong, I kept looking for an answer - for 6 months - even when I felt like quitting. I did not take chemo therapy side effects lying down. I looked for ways to minimize their effects. Taking an action, no matter how small to improve the situation, often brought improvement to how I felt. That, in turn, gave me more hope and more courage.
4) I had to continue managing stress after treatment.
Just because, chemo therapy was done, did not mean, POOF!, all is back to normal. Have you ever heard of new normal? Life was different. My body was recovering for years. It was work. I had to make decisions and build a new life. I was starting over.
This meant that stress management had to continue. I still do something every day to help cope with the stresses of life.
I worked to retain my power, trust, hope, courage, peace of mind. And eventually after many years, I began to wake up in the morning and feel normal again.
*Disclaimer:
Information in this website/blog is not intended to cure or treat any disease. I am not a doctor. I am not a therapist. Check with your doctor before starting any activity/exercise program. Any action taken based on information or opinions on this website/blog, comments, or its links is at your own risk.
Apple logo and iBooks are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries.
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