Living in the moment and "stuff"
So. Today I did a survey!
It was really interesting experiencing my own reactions to some of the questions. Some made me cry. I was angry at those questions. When I thought about them a bit (not too...
Forum Discussion
Your post reminds me I've been thinking the same things. Yesterday I was reading a wonderful book in my local wellness centre which answers the practical aspects of this, called Mindfulness-based Cancer Recovery by Linda Carson and Michael Speca. It uses the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction approach to help deal with treatment and recovering your life after cancer. It talks about avoidance and also living in the moment which is something I find helpful because sometimes I feel like a total Pollyanna and other times I'm concerned that I'm a little fatalistic - there must be a middle way :).
How do we cope with difficulties? whether we use a problem-solving approach (good when we have options) or an emotion-focussed approach (good for when we don't). Putting off thinking about difficult things is a useful strategy early on when we're overwhelmed, we're just putting it on hold for a little while. Overthinking and becoming helpless is not going to help us at all when we need to make decisions about family, about life, not just about treatment.
Ask yourself how you solve problems, how do you manage when emotions get overwhelming, what strategies do you have, what is most helpful to you right now and for later? Having a social support network and good friends and a professional counsellor to talk to are a vital combination of emotion-focussed and problem solving tools that you can use.
Your post raises just the right question for me right now. Thank you
Cheers, Meg xxx