On being Diagnosed with Cancer
This blog was written when I was in the early stages of being in hospital, being treated for cancer, the 2nd half of 2020.
In many ways, this reads as a diary entry where I outline the events of my illness, starting with pre-diagnosis and ending somewhere after my first of six rounds of chemotherapy.
I delve into the emotional and physical trauma of that time. What gave me strength and what made me weak. Relational and spiritual issues are highlighted.
This is all in the context of the initial 2020 lockdown, which meant I had to experience this painful medical world alone.
Anxiety; Where fear takes over
Anxiety is one of the most common topics raised in therapy. It is a debilitating condition that prevents a person from engaging with life.
It is closely associated with depression and often co-exists.
There is a strong medical connection with anxiety; medication is often the first stage of treatment.
Medication, however, can become a near-permanent part of persons ’s life. Many people do not want this and will prefer to resolve their anxiety through psychological work.
Such work identifies the triggers and helps to develop coping mechanisms to lessen their impact.
What Gets You Up in the Mornings?
What is the daily routine of life for?
Is it to make a success of ourselves professionally, to make an impact on the world?
Is the success of our life to be detemined materialisticly?
Or do we get out of our beds every morning to somehow improve the lives of those around us?
Is our value what others hold of us or what we hold of ourselves?
Hope
Hope is perceived as being essential but also as elusive. The hope for a better future plays a large part in motivating us to work through difficult situations.
Some may also say that being driven to achieve by a hope unfounded in reality can result in a destructive end.
Whatever your views on the helpfulness of hope, we all strive to have hope.
Self-discovery in a hiding tree
A tree near me reveals its secret every winter. The secret being that, despite being on a small roundabout in a busy road, it is the home of several nests.
My perception of this being odd indicates that I have a limited mindset of what is appropriate or expected behaviour. Surely the birds would use the hundreds of trees in the park on the other side of the road.
If I limit the behaviour of birds in this way, how do I limit my own?