If you are feeling low and miserable, you may find it helpful to ask yourself what feelings or experiences may have caused this. Some people find it helpful to write down what they are feeling. You may blame yourself, or others, for having had cancer, and may become cut off from the rest of the world. Perhaps you are angry or frightened, and have not had the chance to tell anyone, or maybe you just feel very sad.
Sometimes strong feelings of sadness can turn into depression. There are a number of signs of depression and these are:
- your mood is low most of the time
- you do not feel your usual self
- neither you nor anyone else can lift you out of your low mood
- you have lost interest in and get no enjoyment from your favourite activities.
These symptoms are often accompanied by other problems such as difficulty in sleeping, a loss of concentration, continual tiredness and lack of energy, a loss of motivation (being unable to start or finish things) and a loss of interest in sex.
If you have some of the signs of depression, or feel that you may be depressed, then do talk to a doctor or nurse. Don’t keep these feelings to yourself. Your doctors will understand and can help if you let them know how you are feeling. There are a number of psychological support methods such as counselling or psychotherapy that can dramatically improve your quality of life and can help you to deal with depression. Sometimes a short course of antidepressant drugs can be helpful at a time like this.
If you think you are depressed, speak to your GP. He or she can refer you to a doctor or counsellor who specialises in the emotional problems of people living with cancer.
The energy it takes to keep strong feelings like depression pushed down can actually make you feel low, exhausted or weak, which can make you feel more depressed. If you wish to look into your feelings further, you may find it helpful to talk to a counsellor.
It is natural that you may feel depressed at some time during your cancer experience. Try to be aware of your needs, and keep on finding ways to get them met. Make sure you have enough support from family and friends, and above all try to feel caring and supportive towards yourself. Allow yourself to feel whatever emotions come up without judging yourself as a bad person, or trying to change them.