Cancer includes psychological and emotional side effects as well as physical ones, which must be addressed. A person has excellent reason to experience distress, such as loneliness, depression, and dread, after learning they have the illness. These emotions can be challenging to bear; thus, cancer patients must receive therapy from friends, family, or professionals around them. For example, if the member has no family or friends, they seek treatment from a qualified therapist instead.
As per the blog “Healing the Heart: Emotional Support for Cancer Patients,” mental health problems are tricky and need to be addressed; therefore, feelings like panic attacks, anxiety, or sadness are not left untreated. Hence, mental health is essential: it can suppress physical health, too. Support groups that allow patients to discuss sensitive topics with equally affected groups of people are effective as they encourage healing and diminish fear or anxiety.
In the case of a cancer patient, their caregivers, for example, parents or partners, are equally important as they assist cancer patients. Cancer patients are provided with comfort, and loneliness is reduced. To summarize, finding a sound support system is pivotal for cancer patients. It increases their joy and makes the hardships they face more bearable.
Emotional Landscape of Cancer: What Is It?
Having received the breakup call you don’t want to have over your loved one’s cancer diagnosis, it’s only natural to feel a sea of emotions—fear, anger, or sadness, for that matter. To begin with, it is common for people to feel bewildered and amazed as though they cannot comprehend the very idea that they are suffering from the ailment. Such feelings change quickly into fear and anxiety about the future, making the person feel helpless.
In most cases, anger and guilt set in at such times as more time is spent trying to understand the diabetes diagnosis. The questions that rankle the mind include, “Why me?” ‘Is this what I deserve?’ etc. These feelings sometimes lead to depression, where the person suffering from it loses pleasure in most activities he previously enjoyed.
Depression and guilt can make an individual feel lonely; this becomes worse when you fail to communicate with your peers or family as they don’t know how to offer support to someone going through depression. These feelings of guilt, sadness, and depression are all normal, and it’s pretty essential to confide in someone. This is important because sometimes, you need more encouragement from your friends and family to pull through.
The Psychological Impact of Cancer
Parting with cancer is one, efficacious the devastation of loss that a person comes across is highly painful and voyeuristically paralyzing. The thought of the future, what x-rays or chemotherapy will be like, and how people will look at them in regards to appearance change creates a vast fear of post-treatment. Anxiety is sown in whether the cancer is gone forever or will resurface again’ pregnant thought.
They feel simple sadness or sheer depression from their daily monotonous routine, which causes them to fold in a manner or vent about things in which they used to take joy. When your loved ones, whom you expect to have compassion and consider in understanding your emotional state, do not understand, it adds further loneliness.
Such circumstances create a frustrating cycle. In the treatment of psychological aspects as well as the presiding pain and fatigue, it is best to evacuate that trauma, as dealing with emotional stress exacerbates the physical issues. Many recommend that the two be handled synchronized to achieve maximum effect. Tension segregation theory and the valence-centered approach are some of the numerous perspectives that can help a doctor achieve all this.
The Role of Emotional Support
Cancer patients will significantly benefit from emotional care during the diagnosing and treatment phases, enhancing their overall well-being. Here are some key ways that support can help:
- Professional Counseling: Patients should talk to experts in mental health, such as psychologists or social workers. These professionals help them learn to handle their feelings and acquire the strength needed to deal with the different challenges associated with their illness.
- Peer Support Groups: For instance, joining a support group brings patients experiencing almost the same difficulties together. This meeting helps them shift their thoughts that they are the only ones suffering by sharing and talking with people who understand what they are going through.
- Family Involvement: Alongside the patient, family members also play a significant role in emotional support. They can listen to the patient without any judgment, make them follow the decisions made regarding the treatment, and create a comfortable situation where the patient is free to express themselves.
Such support systems assist in the management of cancer and help improve the patient’s quality of life during treatment.
Practical Tips for Providing Emotional Support
Patients who have cancer can be assisted emotionally through the efforts of their loved ones or caregivers. In this regard, here are some methods by which support can be offered:
- Avoid Yes or No Questions: There are tasks that patients do not like to do, and there are times when they find it hard to express their feelings. To avoid these situations, uplift the atmosphere by engaging said patients and asking them questions such as, “How are you feeling today?” or, “Is there something specific you want to talk about?” These questions show that you care about their feelings and wish to understand them better.
- Courage Them to Vent: It is highly beneficial to assist these patients in sharing emotions that they would otherwise find hard to vent, especially sadness and anger, without fearing judgment.
- Occasional Companionship: Bonding over meals or sitting together silently often assures patients they are not alone in this challenging phase.
- Reinforce Hobbies and Favorite Activities: Even the most minor things, such as forcing patients to do the most everyday tasks, can be a great form of therapy, as it assures them of a trusted routine and a sense of comfort. The only caveat is that these activities must be made comfortable and adjusted according to the patient’s needs.
By using the outlined measures, cancer patients may benefit from their caregivers’ efforts by improving their overall emotional state.
Coping Strategies for Patients
For patients who have cancer, there are various ways in which they can enhance their emotional well-being or even manage it. Following are a few valuable tips:
- Mindfulness and Relaxation Techniques: Some techniques focused on breathing and mind management can help ease anxiety. Such interventions help the patients not to be preoccupied about what the future will hold but instead shift their attention to what is happening now.
- Creative Outlets: Patients can also engage in art therapy or even journaling to express their feelings without saying a word. Such a mode of expression can be very therapeutic and assist patients in reconciling their complex emotions.
- Physical Activity: A simple walk or a little yoga practice may also lift the mood and tone down anxiety among cancer patients. Activities like these help release endorphins, which are hormones that enhance the individual’s feelings.
Adopting such strategies can enable patients to deal with their emotions much more effectively during these times.
The Importance of Community Resources
Indeed, utilizing community resources is helpful not only to patients and families affected by cancer but to cancer patients who are having cancer treatment as well. For instance, the American Cancer Society helps families by providing information on local programs that support the family in dealing with cancer patients. These resources can include:
- Transport provision is available whenever patients have to visit their doctor.
- Home care nutrition program for those who cannot cook at home.
- Counseling services that will aid them in tackling the cost of treatment-related expenses.
Having access to these resources, patients may relieve some of the burden of daily functions they must manage along with treating their ailment.
Caregivers who can’t leave the house for one another and are far away don’t have to feel isolated as technology helps them remain connected; for example, they can make multiple phone calls daily to check on their family. Zoom, Skype & similar platforms allow for video chats, giving a face-to-face sense, even when miles apart. The good news is people share their life situations on social media during these difficult moments so that everyone is in the picture and connected.
Conclusion
It is essential to mention that emotional assistance is significant for anyone who is affected by the disease of cancer; with this feeling, the person might also get emotionally drained, having fears, sadness, or even a bit of anger. Cancer does not only mean mending the physical body but also taking care of its heart and mind.
Healthcare providers can postpone or even eliminate patients’ feelings of fear, worries, and anxiety by offering the right type of support. This includes getting their attention by talking to them about their feelings and helping them find people who understand their problems.
Joining support groups or speaking to counselors is vital to alleviating some of the isolation that patients feel. Family and friends can also help by just being there, offering to listen to them, and showing care.
In short, if a person is looking for a way to recover from cancer, then he has to work both on his body and his emotions. The more challenging times become more manageable if the patients can receive emotional support, as they feel stronger and more motivated.
Sources:
http://www.indiancancersocietybangalore.org/emotional-support-to-cancer-patients-and-caregivers/
https://www.cancercare.org/publications/247-caregiving_providing_emotional_support