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Let's face it. It's enough to go through cancer diagnosis and treatment, let alone the emotional ups and downs that often come with it.
Questions that might trouble you
As a result of your cancer, sometimes you have questions about the past: "Did I do something wrong to cause this cancer? Could I have prevented it?" "What if I had __________________ before it got to be too stressful? Would that have made a difference?"
Other times you might have questions about the future: "My neck hurts. Is that cancer?" Will I be able to see my granddaughter graduate from 2nd grade?" "How will my family be without me?"
While it's normal to ask these questions, often times there really isn't a way to answer them. These questions might linger if you struggle with depression and anxiety.
Depression and anxiety post cancer
What we know from cancer research is that depression and anxiety are common symptoms during and post cancer treatment. While depression might dissipate with time, anxiety lingers as you're reminded of your cancer everyday.
Some of these symptoms might be treatment related, but could this be you?
You might be struggling with depression if you experience the following:
- feeling down, depressed or hopeless
- having little interests in things you used to enjoy
- sleeping too much or too little or have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep
- having low energy
- having little appetite or want to empty the fridge
- feeling irritable
- experiencing mood swings
- having trouble concentrating
- withdrawing from friends and family
- feeling hopeless, guilty and/or angry
- having thoughts about being better off dead or hurting yourself
You might be struggling with anxiety if you experience the following:
- feeling nervous, anxious or on edge
- feeling like you cannot stop or control your worries
- finding yourself worrying too much about different things
- having trouble relaxing
- feeling restless and it's difficult to sit still
- feeling easily annoyed or irritable
- anticipating worse case scenarios
Sometimes anxiety is felt in your body. You might be struggling with panic symptoms if you experience the following:
- pounding heart
- sweating
- trembling or shaking
- shortness of breath
- feelings of choking
- chest pain or discomfort
- nausea or abdominal distress
- dizziness/light headed
- chills or heat sensations
- muscle tension
- feel out of control
- fear of going crazy
- fear of dying
Life after cancer
If you identify with these symptoms that go beyond an occasional sad day or feeling stressed out about something, there is hope! You don't have to settle and let cancer drag your down. Rather than cancer driving your life, you can make meaning choices in the face of cancer. That way, depression and anxiety symptoms, even when they arise, won't bother you as much.
If you need help putting cancer in the passenger seat, I'll be here.
Ada Pang, MS, LMFT is the proud owner of People Bloom Counseling, a Redmond psychotherapy practice in WA. She helps unhappy couples and cancer patients. That can also mean couples distressed by a partner’s cancer diagnosis, or couples wishing to use their marriage as a resource during their cancer journey. When she’s not thinking about couples and cancer, she is cognizant about choices that make for a meaningful life. This often involves food.