Struggling with Negative Emotions
Good morning, I am new to the forum so apologies if this subject has been discussed previously. I had a double mastectomy in March 2024. Breast Cancer is so prevalent in my family, but all other fam...
Forum Discussion
I didn't mind people knowing about my cancer but I couldn't deal with some of their reactions and stupid suggestions. Consequently I made my two daughters my gatekeepers and refused to answer my phone. Hubby was having his own struggle with it so I encouraged him to only answer the phone to people who supported him. This means many family were cut off from us directly. By doing this I could recover from the hurt they caused me. I also have the benefit of a good friend that just listens and supports me even when I say stupid things.
When I concentrated on people with 'lesser' cancer and treatment, I would find the poor me would raise it's head so I made myself move past that and told myself I was happy it theirs was not worse. Who wants others to go through this? Then I had friends who had extensive cancer and if I concentrated on that, I panicked. So I needed to just focus on my own journey and hop on this forum when I needed some emotional support. I also access a psych who was so good that I only needed her once for my initial cancer and then twice more when I got my MBC diagnosis.
When I concentrated on people with 'lesser' cancer and treatment, I would find the poor me would raise it's head so I made myself move past that and told myself I was happy it theirs was not worse. Who wants others to go through this? Then I had friends who had extensive cancer and if I concentrated on that, I panicked. So I needed to just focus on my own journey and hop on this forum when I needed some emotional support. I also access a psych who was so good that I only needed her once for my initial cancer and then twice more when I got my MBC diagnosis.