In my quest to live and thrive, I worked for many years to learn about and internalize the thought process of resilience. Definitions would further enter my space about the capacity to recover quickly from difficulties. While that was helpful, I know that dealing with cancer takes time in the physical body and mindset. Fear and the unknown create divisions far away from resilience.
With a desire to go deeper, psychological resilience is described as “the ability to mentally or emotionally copy with a crisis.” People affected by cancer in chaos can continue to sense threats. The mind gets incredibly tricky to address. Resilience can sound like a wonderful concept. But how can it be accomplished?
Leibniz Institute for Resilience Research in Mainz, Germany, conducted a review published in December of 2019, with interventions to promote resilience in cancer patients. Resilience included “the ability to maintain or rapidly regain mental health during or after stressful life experiences. Cancer is a major risk factor for stress-associated mental illness.” They looked to identify effective resilience-promoting interventions. The researchers analyzed 22 trials totaling almost 3,000 adult cancer patients. Interestingly, they looked for both resilience and post-traumatic growth.
The findings show, “Largely beneficial effects were achieved by interventions based on the concepts of positive psychology, supportive-expressive group therapy, behavioral therapy, or mindfulness, with considerable variation in individual effect sizes.” The researchers also said these interventions should be provided as soon as possible and should extend more than 12 sessions.
Research is paramount, but sometimes people do not know about it, or their hospital does not provide offerings. Therefore, with logic, we need to find some calm and clarity to move forward proactively with goals. A quest includes relevance with self-compassion, self-confidence, gratitude, love, joy, and meaning. Those positive experiences create positive energy, which vibrates resilience.
As we all breathe and connect with self, others, and life, the true essence is full of optimism. Yet, living can still have the mind to reside with patterns, behaviors, actions, the ego, and other factors. The mindset needs awareness and attention to discover and transform. Tracking experiences as much as possible is vital in the learning process for resilience and radical steps within.
Additional ways to support resilience comes from exercise, nutrition, and other body-mind-spirit-social-environmental components. Those approaches can also improve quality of life, sometimes cancer survival, and cancer prevention.
Transformation through resilience can serve as a powerful catalyst and change agent in cancer patients and caregivers. A re-evaluation process, which can at first be traumatic, may create healthy choices and other benefits.
If you would like to expand your knowledge and support in your cancer journey, contact me, and learn more about my cancer coaching here.
