October is Breast Cancer Awareness month, along with having its own “Wear it Pink” day on 22 October.
Personally, I think pink should be worn everyday but it is what it is.
October also has other awareness days including World Mental Health day, which I think is appropriate bearing in mind (get it…??.) how a cancer diagnosis can affect your mental health.
How Anxiety starts
Being diagnosed, having various different treatments, dealing with the side effects of those treatments is tough.
When it’s done, life is supposed to restart. It doesn’t. It may have been on pause, but when you press the play button it doesn’t just continue from where you left off.
Its like the end of the movie has been lost and you have to start the sequel. And not all sequels are better than the original. but there are a few…
So we have a new normal. For us and for the people around us. We look the same (in clothes) so we should be the same – yet we are not.
That pressure causes untold stress and anxiety, something that we are not prepared for or warned about.
Some anxiety or stress is allowed but it doesn’t just go when treatment ends. It builds and builds until coping daily becomes almost unbearable.
Putting stress in a bucket
The charity Anxiety UK suggests an interesting a way to think about stress and anxiety.
Imagine that stress levels are like water in a bucket. If stressors are added to the bucket, even tiny ones like the school run or getting to work, over time that bucket gets filled. Then one day, often after what seems like something trivial, the bucket overflows.
When in the middle of such a situation, even the simple things in life can seem overwhelming, and the physical and psychological symptoms that anxiety brings can be difficult to understand and cope with.
Their solution is to find a way to have a bucket with holes in the bottom.
The “holes” represent something positive you can do to help manage the anxiety.
I imagine the holes will be personal as something that works for one person will not work for another.
Obvious suggestions include a long soak in the bath, some meditation or mindfulness, or a walk in the country. These “holes” will help to reduce the overall feelings of anxiety.
Improving my own mental health
As part of my attempt to raise breast cancer awareness this month, I am walking 100 miles in a October to raise money for Breast Cancer Care.
I am not a walker I can assure you, unless it involves a pub or a hot summers day when am walking and tanning at the same time. Multi-tasking you know.
But having done it for one week now, I have already noticed some improvement in my mood. Even when it has rained, I have enjoyed it. Its actually been fun finding new places to walk and having a bit of adventure (well more like getting lost…).
Does anxiety ever go away?
There are still those twinges of anxiety that are definitely cancer related. The fear that it will come back, more when rather than if.
The pains that come and go that the GP says if I wasn’t anxious I wouldn’t notice. The reminder to stop using Google to diagnose myself with appendicitis/bowl cancer/ovarian cysts…
I still have the days when life is just overwhelming. Unfortunately, no amount of “positive holes” will cure anxiety like the click of fingers.
Everyone's anxiety is different
There are so many different ways that anxiety represents itself that it’s often hard to pin point whether the upset stomach is anxiety and or, for example, too many cocktails…
So it’s important to be aware of your own body and mind, and have a handle on what anxiety means for you.
My anxiety often manifests as nausea and dizzyness (with an upset stomach to boot on occasion) but I also have some food intolerances that have recently reared their ugly heads so sometimes it takes a bit of detective work.
It’s good to talk
Talking to someone else can be an excellent way to get through an episode so long as you choose wisely. They don’t have to have experience of anxiety themselves, but the ability not to judge is imperative.
Strangers can often be the best people, but before you start talking to the person sitting next to you at the bus stop, a professional counsellor or therapist would be a better choice!
In the UK you can self refer on the NHS for mental health support so you don’t even need your GPs help. It is all free.
If an app works best for you, there are several great mental health support apps and Breast Cancer now have their own called Becca https://breastcancernow.org/information-support/support-you/becca
Keep on walking.....
For now I’m going to continue with my walking and hope that the improvement will continue. And that it doesn’t snow.
If you would like to sponsor me, here is the link https://www.facebook.com/donate/201426975386707/
Don’t struggle alone
If you think you may have anxiety, whether breast cancer related or otherwise, please do not struggle on on your own. There are people and organisations that can help. Here are a couple to consider.
