Cancer - and other chronic illnesses – can be devastating to your emotional well-being. No one is prepared to hear a cancer diagnosis, and while modern medicine is constantly improving long term outlook, every day you're still faced with your own mortality. There is no one unaffected by these diagnoses, and it should come as no surprise that many of those living with chronic illness end up suffering from anxiety and depression.
Living for Yourself
But there's also a truth to life – that you deserve to be as happy as possible each and every day. The most important thing to ask yourself as you go through this is – if your cancer was suddenly cured tomorrow, how would you feel about where your life is? Far too many people waste each and every day, avoiding the activities that could bring them joy and losing out on friendships and experiences that would otherwise be fulfilling.
It's our fundamental right as human beings to enjoy every moment, and not even chronic illness can or should take that away. So how do you try to maintain a positive mindset and attitude as you deal with the disease?
Strategies for Maintaining Positivity
You should never be afraid to seek help. Trained therapists are skilled at helping you come to terms with your diagnosis, and support groups are a great place to find inspirational people that will help you get through this. Yet there are also strategies you can try in the comfort of your own home. Each of the following is valuable for maintaining positivity throughout your illness:
- Goal Setting
The number one thing you need to do is set goals. Goals keep you focused on the future, which is crucial for treating the future with importance. Physical limitations may make it harder to reach some of the goals you had in the past, but there are always new goals you can try. Think of anything that you've wanted to learn, or books you wanted to write, or projects you wanted to complete but never bothered to start.
When you've completed a goal, set more goals. Make sure that you're always working towards something so that every day that passes is a day of accomplishment.
- Positive Journaling
You should also look into positive journal writing. Anxiety and depression have a tendency to cause negative thinking, and often you'll find yourself obsessing over the negative events in your life. Don't fall into that trap. Positive journal writing is a useful way to re-train your brain to think positively. Write about 10 great (and specific) things that happened to you each day, until eventually you start to look for these great things throughout the day.
- Faking It
Positivity can be hard when you're faced with such an incredible life challenge. But there are ways to manipulate your mind so that you start thinking more positively – you fake it.
Essentially this plays off of the idea of cognitive dissonance. When you act in a way that differs from your belief (ie, acting positive when you're having negative thoughts) your brain gets confused, and starts to change your thoughts in order to match this new belief. Pretending to be a positive person actually has the power to make you more positive, provided you act as genuinely happy as you can.
Overcoming Chronic Illness
Beyond those activities, you should also stay as active and busy as possible, and spend as much time with others as you can. Isolation and inactivity are the enemies of positivity and happiness. You need to get out there and live life as best you can if you want to calm your anxiety.
The key here, however, is to care about your happiness. You have to recognize that your diagnosis doesn't define you, and that you still deserve to live the highest quality life possible under the circumstances. Try the above strategies, and don't be afraid to seek help if necessary.
About the Author: Ryan Rivera has helped many people living with cancer and other chronic illnesses overcome their anxiety. He provides information about anxiety at www.calmclinic.com.
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