Looking after someone suffering from cancer can prove to be quite tricky, and the emotions involved are many. There is a sense of fear, sorrow, and guilt that both the patient and their caretaker feel when a beloved is diagnosed with cancer. Caregivers are so focused on attempting to provide for the cancer-affected individual that they tend to overlook self-care. Such neglect in meeting their own needs leads to a sense of deprivation and a sense of hopelessness, a condition which is widely known as caregiver fatigue, depression, or exhaustion.
In this regard, the user and the caregiver require a lot of self-regulation. They can sometimes consult their family or close friends for advice and assistance to care for themselves. They are also free to leave their responsibilities and interact with those they care for. According to the blog “The Emotional Journey of Cancer Caregiving: How to Cope,” Identifying when their loved ones start feeling sad or offended will aid them in coping with such feelings more efficiently. To care for the cancer-affected individual and to care for themselves, being strong and gentle towards themselves is the best course of action available.
Emotional Landscape: What Is It?
To come to grips with a loved one’s routine being overturned by a serious illness like cancer can be immensely difficult. For instance, the caregivers may feel frightened and, as a result, have anxiety, which is a very ‘real’ emotion in the first place. Unfortunately, these emotions do significantly impact the mental state of caregivers, causing stress and panic.
Caregivers face many challenges, making them reliable when immediate help is needed. They deal with stress and various emotions, such as sadness and anger. Caregivers need to talk about these feelings to find ways to cope. Feeling unappreciated is also common, so seeking support from family, friends, or professionals is essential. During tough times, everyone involved needs to take care of one another.
Which Emotions Do Caregivers Frequently Feel?
Because of the complexity of cancer therapy for the whole family, it is quite natural for the caregivers to feel anxious waiting for the COVID-19 pandemic to pass. They are concerned that treatment may be excruciating. When they think about caring for their family, they tend to be introverted. Such pondering makes them gloomy and makes them not want to spend time with a loved one undergoing treatment, as there will be no more fun-seeking time with that person.
In such cases, interns, residents, and nurses feel guilt because they feel they have not done enough or guilt in taking time off to spend with their families. In such situations, it is also not unusual for anger to arise when caregivers feel powerless over the effects of cancer on their family life or their family.
All such emotions surround a person undergoing such a steep challenge. However, it is necessary to identify and verbalize such feelings even in such situations. In particular, knowing that emotions always come, caregivers have more opportunities to work themselves or support someone else.
What Is The Importance of Self-Care?
The caregiver position requires a lot of selfless dedication, which unfortunately leads to many people ignoring their health while serving their family or friends. This might eventually cause you to feel drab performance-wise or emotionally, and the result of that state is known as depletion. If you are headed in this direction, follow the self-care modules below.
- Form Boundaries: Hours spent on others should be allocated to those spent on self-care, and breaks are perfectly reasonable.
- Get assistance: People such as family or friends who empathize well with your situation and speak to them so you can share your issue with them. They can assist you and provide motivation.
- Have Fun: Practice your hobbies, such as drawing, video gaming, or reading, to help you unwind and get in a good mood.
- Pay Attention to the Moment: learning to be still, meditation, and yoga can help with anxiety management. Consider trying one or more of these activities.
Caring for yourself will enable you to care for others even better.
Open Communication
Communicating, which involves openness, is significant for the caregiver and the patient. Taking care of a cancer survivor requires patience and understanding from everyone involved. Such communication fosters a sense of aloneness to be reduced during difficult circumstances as they feel more connected.
To help with developing the communication further, here are some helpful guidelines:
- Establish a Safe Environment: Before opening up, ensure that the environment is free of judgment to increase the comfort level of the person you work with.
- Engage them by Listening: Listening is key, especially when someone expresses feelings. Whether it’s understanding or empathy, listening also means refraining from interruptions.
- Suggest Professional Aid: While trying to subdue excessive emotions, encourage your loved one to speak to a counselor who has been coping with survivorship. Such professionals can understand oncological care rather well.
Through these techniques, caregivers can meet their own needs while attending to their patients in hopes of being able to support them.
How To Recognize Emotional Challenges in Patients?
Cancer has a significant impact on people’s mental well-being, which is comprehended by only a few. In addition to feeling worried, those who receive a cancer diagnosis also experience stress and depression. Tunnel vision, restlessness, elevated heart rate, and excessive worrying are all symptoms of anxiety. Similarly, depression may generate constant feelings of sorrow, withdrawal, fatigue, lack of interest, and social distancing from loved ones.
These signs concern caregivers and need Attention since a loved one feeling this way needs care. Once caregivers spot those feelings, it is wise for the cancer patient and their doctor or therapist to collaborate and speak to a professional earlier rather than later to tackle the issues effectively. Doing so increases the likelihood of a positive or significant outcome when coping with cancer.
Do Caregivers Have Any Coping Mechanisms?
One of the most complicated illnesses is cancer, and as a caregiver, supporting a loved one with the condition may be extremely difficult. But you can give efficient help by managing your feelings, so here are some suggestions to help you think through yourself as a caregiver and your attitude:
- Learn About the Disease: Always attempt to understand the meaning of cancer and learn about its management. It is valuable knowledge for feeling confident in providing adequate support as a caregiver.
- Self-Care: Sometimes, humans are overwhelmed by negative feelings. We must remind ourselves that it’s completely okay to feel defeated, but it’s far more critical to acknowledge that feeling and ask for help.
- Consider All Emotional States: A better approach to this would be to understand that people have both good and bad days and that you or the care recipient have adjustable goals on those days.
- Find Fun Activities: Playing sports, drawing, or journaling can naturally elevate a person’s mood.
With these tips, caregivers can skillfully control their emotions and support their family members.
How To Build a Support Network?
For family caregivers dealing with cancer, feeling alone can be harmful. Building a strong support network is crucial, as other caregivers going through similar situations can offer sound advice and comfort. Whether online or in person, support groups are comforting and help people learn how to manage new challenges. Such groups are fundamentally designed to aid those who need it. There are many resources available to get such aid, and here are just a few:
- Local Cancer Centers: Many cancer centers and hospitals have special groups for caregivers. For instance, many centers in the cancer care industry hold regular meetings to encourage family caregivers to feel safe expressing their feelings and emotions.
- Online Platforms: Quite a few websites help family caregivers connect with people who need help. One such website is cancerusa.com, which has many other resources available for family caregivers.
- Counselors: These mental health professionals are trained to offer personalized advice and stress tips based on your specific situation, advising you on managing your feelings and stressors more effectively.
How To Foster Resilience Through Hope?
Looking after someone with cancer can be pretty daunting, but as it is said, never lose hope. Encouraging their loved ones to focus on the more admirable aspects of life can be helpful for both the patients and the caregivers. One way to do this is by asking the patients to appreciate three things for which they are grateful for that specific day. This assists them in feeling more positive and appreciative.
Setting daily achievements is an effective strategy. These can include simple tasks like taking a short walk for a few minutes or completing some jigsaw puzzle pieces. This can be satisfying for both the patient and the caregiver.
It is also essential to focus on the progress made. Forgetting a treatment or trying a new opportunity are small steps in the right direction. When we add these efforts together, we create a sense of unity and hope.
By staying positive, setting goals, and reaching them, caregivers and patients can develop a strong feeling of hope.
Conclusion
Cancer patients don’t just need medical treatment. They require holistic care that encompasses both emotional support and physical assistance. Unsurprisingly, a caregiver has to go through various emotional consequences. While taking care of cancer patients, emotions such as guilt, sadness, and even excessive worrying are pointers that are usually experienced, unfortunately. Caregivers must also consider their needs amid all this psychological, emotional, and mental chaos.
And one of the first steps in doing so is to make time for stress-relieving conversations. After all, effective and open communication with the caregiving person is critical for understanding the condition of both individuals. Stressing out during this turbulent journey is natural, but as caregivers, looking for ways to relieve these stressors is paramount.
Establishing an emotional support system fosters essential relationships that can serve as a helping hand during challenging times. Remember, hope is the critical ingredient for succeeding in what seems to be an overwhelming task, especially when paired with the numerous resources available.
Sources:
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4695863/
https://cancerblog.mayoclinic.org/2021/11/17/what-to-expect-when-caring-for-someone-with-cancer/
https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7870390/
https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/coping/caregiver-support