There will be times in Cancerworld when you will feel totally overwhelmed. No matter how educated, high functioning, laid back, we are there are times when the foreign-ness of the language, the fast pace of Cancerworld, and the myriad of options leaves us completely overloaded.
In addition, the emotions that we experience when we are thrown into Cancerworld can be new to us. Which means that we are mentally, emotionally, physically, and perhaps spiritually reeling. We may not be able to see anything but noise. And not the nice kind of gentle, help you fall asleep white noise, the "I can't figure it out and there seems to be only chaos around me" kind of noise.
Sometimes, being aware enough that this is typical helps us recognize that what we are experiencing is not "terminally unique" and it does not indicate that we are malfunctioning in some way. We are not malfunctioning. Rather we are trying to negotiate a new world.
There are some things we can do when we are in overload mode...here are a few:
If we are being asked to make immediate decisions by a medical professional, or if we receive news that seems too desperate to consider, we can slow the process down. We can seek a second opinion. If we have seen an oncologist we can consult with a surgical oncologist. Or we can consult with an oncologist at another facility. (I realize this is not an option in some areas.) In essence, we can defer. We may not make our best decisions when we are overwhelmed. If we are being asked to do something on the spot we can say we need more time. 24 hours usually does it and will usually not cause any permanent damage.
We can take a break. We say this a lot .... take a deep breath, go outside, notice something beautiful nearby, remember your favorite smell.
We can talk to a friend, counselor, social worker. When we take this option, it is wise to try and make sure we are venting with someone that is trust worthy. We don't want to confide in anyone who is going to judge us, jump to giving advice, jettison our need for their own, or push us into immediate demands for only joy. We are looking for someone that will join us where we are and will just sit with us.
If you are spiritual type, you may take a moment to pray, meditate, chant, dance, spin, or whatever brings you closer to the Divine.
I am sure there are a lot of other ways we can step back when we are overloaded so that we do not end up spending a ton of time in overload mode. The idea is to get some distance so that a clear picture can emerge. While we will not always be able to see the big picture. When we give ourselves a little time and patience, we might be able to see more of the landscape.
This may also be true for non-cancer world residents.
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