Hi all
Having recently been diagnosed and awaiting test results/oncology appointment, am finding the waiting and points when it all hits me quite stressful.
Does anyone have any advice on how to calm down such as meditation/ mindfulness apps or other techniques? I find distraction is usually key but sometimes it’s all consuming particularly in a morning when I remember it all again.
Thank you! Hope you’re all well.
Lisa x
Hello Lisa
sorry to hear that … and I remember clearly how difficult that period was.
My saviour was yoga and I am still hooked … it’s really helped to put my feet back on the ground and control my spinning head. It’s really helped with that nervous feeling.
Adriene has several 30 day challenges or individual sessions - I’m pretty sure there’s one for anxiety. All on you tube. The breathing exercises are odd but I’ve found them really helpful. You don’t have to be able to do it all but just focus on the moment. Happy to suggest a couple if you’d like.
Otherwise walking outside somewhere calm and quiet. Cooking something nice you’ve never made before.
waiting is hard so find anything that can give you a little distraction.
Playing solitare on my phone with my feet up also distracts me! Not forgetting an easy trashy film/series on Netflix.
Wishing you all the best!
Hey Liswa
If anything was ever designed to cause stress and anxiety, it’s got to be cancer and treatment, and oh the waiting! o.O
By all means give meditation a go, but from my experience it might be really *unhelpful* - being alone with your thoughts might not work for you. If you do fancy it, maybe try guided meditations as something a little more distracting. I love the free app, Insight Timer - loads of meditations on that. I used to use the Calm app, too.
I think the distraction thing is great. Now is such a good time to be good to yourself, so anything you find fun - trashy TV, or silly games, or anything, and guilt free! Or you might like to try something creative - art therapy is a real thing, and getting into the ‘flow state’ can be amazing for getting you out of stress.
For when you’re a bit too tired for much else, podcasts might help. There are ones on every topic under the sun, including meditation. I really love one called ‘Nothing Much Happens’, which are really gentle, meandering bedtime stories. Really helped me in my main trouble point, which was lying down to sleep at night and my mind just buzzing furiously - this gave me something else to focus on, while not keeping me awake. You could find something that does similar for the mornings.
Wishing you all the very best!