October is a month to wear PINK!!!! People wear a pink ribbon that symbolizes Breast Cancer Awareness. October is thus designated as pink month. During this Awareness many professionals make efforts to educate people that are concerned about Breast Cancer. They educate them about early signs, symptoms associated with this disease but also ways to support people that suffer from breast cancer. Its also a day to remember and support people that have won this battle but also people that may have lost their battle during the way. It also takes place to support the progress of research in order to defeat Breast cancer.
This Disease affects many people once diagnosed. It can affect both women and men. People that fight during this painful period experience a lot of physical and emotional distress. They may suffer from:
àanxiety
àdepression
àcommunication problems (and this because people tend to close to themselves and stop expressing what they feel just because of the fear that they might have. Other times they might be so irritable about things that happen in their everyday life and have lots of anger issues. Thus, communication can’t take place correctly).
àsexual problems
àmarriage problems (separation and divorce).
Its very important to recognize these behaviors and ask for help as soon as possible.
BUT how do you stay positive knowing that you are diagnosed with something so difficult.
First of all, people should:
- Surround themselves with positive and caring people in their life.
- Stick to their daily routine. They should not stop doing things and having dreams that they used to have in their life.
- Focus on things that really matter for themselves.
- Feel free to express their feelings (sadness, fear, and uncertainty is part of this process. People should not suppress their feeling during these negative days. We should never ignore our feelings. These are natural feelings, and they need to be expressed.
- Stay true to themselves.
- Turn negative thoughts into positive thoughts.
- Keep a journal of what makes them happy and what is important in their life. By doing this people can look back when they have a bad day and overcome their sadness.
- Never loose hope. Have a goal you want to reach and stick to your goal. Focus on your current life but NEVER loose hope for your future.
- Laugh
- Pick a hobby
- Accept help
- Read success stories
Psychology and treatment help people with this diagnoses in order to communicate better. Therapy encourages people to take care of themselves and to be more confident. Psychologists most of the times unite everyone to treatment from the patients surrounding and this happens in order to encourage them and help them learn about empathy and how to help their loved ones. The more psychological support one has the better they feel.
Therapy helps:
- Boost women’s chance of survival
- Help patients learn relaxation techniques, self-hypnosis, meditation, that can help them relieve nausea without the medical side effects.
- Therapy helps by giving emotional and practical help for family members.
- Help work through stages of grief and fear.
- Help with problem solving strategies.
- Treatment helps with learning patients how to deal with emotional and physical changes that are associated with Breast Cancer during their treatment that can be both painful and traumatic to patients.
What treatment is helpful?
Individual therapy and group therapy and both helpful. Many times, a combination of both is better. Individual therapy helps patients by understanding patterns of thinking and behavior and group therapy helps with emotional support and learn experiences from other people that have the same diagnosis.
Breast cancer can change your life and your psychological functioning. But this doesn’t mean that you should lose yourself during this proses. Women who seek help from a psychologist can benefit from the mind body process. This helps to enhance both physical health and mental health.
Always have in mind positive thoughts. Stay strong and remember that you are not alone.