During treatment, or after receiving a diagnosis, most people find they can get support by talking to close family members and friends.
While this can help to comfort you, you may find certain feelings hard to share with friends and family, or you may want to deal with things in ways that your friends and family don’t agree with. Your friends and family may even be too close and emotionally connected to the issues to see them clearly and objectively. Our counsellors could help you to understand your feelings and talk through confusing emotions, providing you with an opportunity to talk, cry, shout or simply think.
Receiving a cancer diagnosis may fill you with fear or anger, or create feelings of anxiety regarding the treatment to come. Talking to a counsellor could help you in many ways, including coping with your reactions to cancer, family and relationship issues, exploring personal issues and dealing with practical issues.
Counselling sessions could provide a space for you to talk through your problems and concerns, giving you the space to work with your counsellor to find more helpful and meaningful ways of managing the impact that a cancer diagnosis can have on your life. A counsellor could help you to find different ways of coping that hadn’t occurred to you before, while the confidentiality could enable you to be honest about your issues and emotions.
Counselling has been known to help cancer patients cope better with the many difficulties they face, both during and after their cancer diagnosis and treatment. It could help reduce the stress you face, improve your quality of life and enable you to see a way forward.
If you would like to speak to one of our trained counsellors please get in contact with your nearest Cancer Support Centre.
Becoming self-aware and noticing something different within you is when counselling may help. A lot of people put up a wall and want to come across strong, but that doesn’t mean they’re okay. Some can find it easy to put on a front, but chances are that person is feeling a lot worse than they are letting on.
Clare, Cancer Support Centre Counsellor