• We crave information about what is to come for survival
• Worry helps us plan and prepare
• Fear interprets ambiguity as a threat
• Both feelings diminish our ability to focus on anything but creating certainty
Fear
Sadness
Guilt
Anger
Emotional numbness
Uncertainty
Worry
Pressure
Will cancer come back? Will it progress?
Will I get a secondary cancer related to my treatments?
Will I recognize symptoms?
What do I pay attention to? What do I dismiss?
Am I doing enough?
Am I overdoing it?
When is my cancer most likely to recur?
What are the doctors looking at during follow up visits?
When should I contact my medical team?
Did treatment put me at risk for any future health issues? How will those be monitored?
• Fear and worry many not completely go away.
• Name it & Claim it.
• Take the hit of a feeling, greet the “visitor”
• Naming a feeling gives you a little distance from the feeling so you can respond (not react)
• Building tolerance for uncomfortable feelings gives us flexibility with our attention.
• Calming yourself not only feels better it helps you act smarter.
Julie Larson, LCSW – www.julielarsonlcsw.com
“Well
• Greet your feelings like a visitor.
• Resist judging or struggling to “fix” them.
• Allow them some space to just be with you.
“Fear, you’ve returned I see.”
• Struggling with the uncontrollable feelings often makes the feeling more intense.
• Watch how it is you learn to live despite their presence?
“Ah! Anger. It’s you.”
“Oh jealousy, hello.”
“Ah, Restlessness. Yes, I know you.”
• Make space for the feeling – be honest
• Comfort and care for yourself
• Parts of this reality may or may not change
• Then… NOW WHAT? Where do I focus today.
“What If?” to… “What Is.”
Take inventory of your present. What you know for sure.
“What If?” to…. “What Else.”
Are there other possible truths?
“What If?” to… “Then What.”
Create a concrete plan for your worstcase scenarios.
“What If?” to… “What’s Left.”
Turn the lights on in the rest of the room. What is available to you now?
• You matter. When you aren’t at your best the world around you misses you and you feel that impact too!
• When we underinvest in our body, mind, spirit we chip away at the MOST essential tool for leading your best life.
q Sleep
q Rest
q Nourish
q Hydrate
q Connect
q Play for JOY
What am I doing that helps?
What am I doing that is not helpful?
Getting organized and prioritize Take a break to refill water bottle
Get outside Connect with a friend
Top of the Hour Break. Change my surroundingsPause and breathe Write, pamper yourself, music, cook, art…
Fortune Telling Assumptions
Making comparisons Scrolling social media
Trips to the fridge Raising your voice
Develop a habit of checking in with yourself.
Can I name the feeling I am having?
Where am I feeling this stress in my body?
What am I doing that is helpful?
What am I doing that is not working well for me?
Worry and Fear can be very “head heavy”
“He lived some distance from his body”
How can you reconnect with your body?
Breathe
Change location (sit/stand; inside/outside; lay down/get up)
Feel your body – touch
Ground yourself into the…ground. J
Change the pace with breath
• Meaning and purpose of wellsprings of hope.
• When we recognize our value to someone (or something) else it gives us a place to focus that is outside of our uncertainty.
• How does the life around you still need you despite the uncertainty you feel?
