Self-Care Tips for Coping with Cancer
0Be kind to yourself
We all go through tough times, let’s be honest, life sucks sometimes. Whether you're living with cancer (your own diagnosis or a family member’s), or school or university is stressing you out, its always important to take care of yourself - to be kind to others but importantly, to yourself.
We’ve all heard flight attendants say put on your own oxygen mask before helping others. Being a good friend is important, and being supportive is a quality I love about myself, but you can’t pour from an empty glass. Self-care, self-confidence and self-acceptance is so important for your wellbeing. It sounds corny, but one of my personal favourite things to do to boost my self confidence in times it feels low is to talk to myself in the mirror. Identify the things I love about myself, not only physically but deeper than that, personally, emotionally. When I catch myself speaking unkindly to myself, I like to think, “Would I say this to my best friend?”, and chances are I wouldn’t. This idea is captured beautifully in this video By K!SS Will and Woody, well worth a watch and to consider how you see and talk to yourself…
@willandwoody You would never say this to your friends, so why are you saying it to yourself. This R U OK? Day check in with your mates, but also ask yourself - are you okay? Huge thank you to the incredible people who were involved in this video and their vulnerability. 💛 #willandwoody #ruokday #ruok
♬ original sound - Willandwoody
Keep busy – do something to bring you happiness
Maybe its craft, like drawing or painting or maybe you enjoy reading, escaping your world and being transported into a fictional world of your favourite book. Taking time away is important, to get out of your head and focus on something else that isn’t as emotional or stressful. I personally love the feeling of finishing something, because of this, I love jigsaws and colouring in. I love nature too, I’m a big outdoorsy person so any chance I can get outside I love, walking my dog, strolling along the beach, or just sitting watching the clouds. Whatever your ‘thing’ is, I encourage you to take some time every now and then, especially in times of high emotion and/or stress to do what you love and what brings you happiness.
Stay connected
Find your people. Whether they are your friends, or family, or online pals, maybe that you met through Connect (hehe). Spend time with your people. Maybe you want to chat about what’s on your mind, or maybe you just need a laugh and to distract yourself, try to find time and make an effort to put down whatever it is that on your mind and grab a coffee and have a chat with ‘your people’.
P.S. You can find linked here some more self-care tips for coping with cancer in these videos made by our 2021 Connect leaders…
By Emily, Connect Leader