Stress Management

Imagination is a concept not often heard in the medical world, but using imagination and visualization may help patients with cancer cope with the psychological strain of cancer, as Petra Sprik and Kari Dawson show.

Whenever life feels like one giant, inescapable ball of stress and challenges, Thomas Galioto advises to remember the rollercoaster ride known as the “Racer” as a way of finding relief.

Building spiritual health may be just as important as building physical health, but often goes ignored. Petra Sprik, MDIV, MPH, BCC, provides a plan for a week of spiritual muscle builders to help you nurture your soul and maintain a sense of balance.

Meg Cadoux Hirshberg, co-founder of the Anticancer Lifestyle Program that promotes mindful living, describes different stress-reduction techniques, types of meditation, and other practical tools used for stress reduction.

Clinical psychologist Jessica Pieczynski, PhD, offers insights into how practicing mindfulness techniques can help cancer survivors manage stress during the pandemic, and beyond.

Dean Quick, MT-BC, explains how music therapy combats the stresses of dealing with cancer, noting that listening to and creating music increases our bodies' production of dopamine and oxytocin, which act as natural painkillers.

Disease recurrence is a common cause for the stress and anxiety typically experienced by cancer survivors even long after treatment ends. Several mental health experts provide some tips for easing these fears.

People who go through life with a positive outlook have better health in part because they experience less stress.

When anxiety becomes overwhelming, it can add to the difficulties of dealing with cancer. Cancer survivor and nurse navigator Deborah Gomer provides easy-to-use breathing exercises that help restore calm and alleviate anxiety. Remember to breathe!