How are you feeling? Looking after your mental health

It’s Mental Health Awareness Week from 11–17 May. This blog was written by Hazel, a Macmillan Clinical Psychologist.

I meet with people with cancer and their families to provide psychological therapy. This is either as individuals or groups. The aim is to help people who are experiencing significant distress as a result of their cancer diagnosis to adjust to changes. I also try to help them manage their thoughts and feelings so they can have the best quality of life possible. I work with people at all stages of their cancer experience: after diagnosis, during treatment, and after active treatment has ended.

People with cancer are referred to clinical psychology for lots of different reasons, such as:

• —  to make sense of how they are feeling
• —  to manage feelings such as anxiety, sadness, anger, loss and low mood
• —  to make decisions about cancer treatment
• —  to manage worries and living with uncertainty 
• —  to cope with pain, discomfort, fatigue or treatment side effects
• —  to cope with how cancer affects relationships
• —  to manage home and family life while caring for themselves
• —  to cope with feeling unhappy about the way they look
• —  to cope with how cancer affects self-esteem and sense of self
• —  to make adjustments
• —  to deal with feelings of loss
• —  to move forward with life after treatment has finished.

I work in Cardiff and Vale. There are clinical psychologists working in cancer services across the UK, but different areas vary. Not every area has a specific psychology team, but most areas will have access to counselling services run by various organisations. 

This week is Mental Health Awareness Week, which helps raise awareness of issues around mental health and well-being. Cancer affects the whole person; it’s not just the physical changes to the body that need to be considered. Cancer is a major life event that can involve adjusting to many significant changes for you and your family. Strong emotional reactions usually accompany big changes, even if some of them are positive.

Macmillan has information about the emotional reactions you might experience. It’s available online, or as a booklet called How are you feeling? The emotional effects of cancer. It explains emotional responses that can be very common at different stages of the cancer experience, such as:

• shock
• anxiety
• anger
• guilt
• denial.

The information describes how you might be feeling and what you can do to manage these emotions. It also tells you where you can get support. Having information, knowing what to expect and understanding common emotional reactions to cancer can all help you feel in control. It can also help you accept and process these feelings.

Many people adjust to the cancer diagnosis and the sometimes overwhelming emotions that go with it. This can take time and involve the support of family and friends. But this can sometimes be more complicated or difficult. There are lots of reasons for this, such as:

• how your life was before the cancer diagnosis
• having other physical health problems
• the support around you
• the impact of cancer on your life.

If you are finding it difficult, there are things you can do that can help:

• If you are concerned about your well-being or someone else’s, contact your GP for urgent support.
• Read Macmillan’s information about the emotional effects of cancer.
• Talk to other people in a similar situation. You could do this on Macmillan’s Online Community.
• Talk to your health professionals about how you are feeling. They can tell you about the clinical psychology or counselling services available in your area. They can also tell you how you can be referred to them.

We're with you every step of the way

The Macmillan team is here to help. Our cancer support specialists can answer your questions, offer support, or simply listen if you need a chat. Call us free on 0808 808 00 00.

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