How to Care for Yourself When Caring for Someone with Cancer
Mental health support plays a meaningful role when caring for a loved one with cancer. This article explores why teens in particular need such support.
It can be overwhelming to live with and care for a loved one with cancer. Sometimes you may feel isolated, or that you just want to ignore the problems in front of you. You may feel sad, angry or confused. As a teen, you may be highly aware of these feelings, or you may not fully understand these strong emotions as they arise. Do you suddenly find yourself angry, but you’re not sure why? Have you recently started engaging in activities that might be dangerous to your health and well-being?
Feelings like these are common. However, sometimes those feelings can spiral out of control. Teens sometimes find themselves acting or behaving in ways that are not like their typical self. Nevertheless, there are many ways to help you adjust to the changes and share your feelings through talking to others and self-reflection.
Signs that Suggest You Should Seek Help
It is sometimes difficult to know when we should seek help from others. Here are some signs that it might be time for you to ask for help.
- You may not feel as enthusiastic about activities that once brought you joy.
- You may have trouble performing simple tasks and chores.
- You feel like you have no one else to talk to. Feelings like this are normal if you are going through challenging circumstances. There are people around you who you can go to for support who can make the process more bearable.
- Your grades, work satisfaction, or performance in other activities seem to falter.
- You are experiencing brain fog, or the reduced ability to focus—your memory and cognitive functions feel depleted or weakened.
- You are sleeping too little or too much. An erratic sleep schedule could indicate mental health distress: the desire to avoid problems, the onset of depression or the presence of an anxiety disorder.
Ask the People Around You for Help
If you are experiencing any of these changes, you can consider reaching out to others for help. Asking for help is a sign of strength and resilience. It means you know yourself well enough to identify a problem, and you are strong enough to know you need support. The people around you, including your extended family, friends, therapists, and others can provide valuable emotional support and other resources to help you through such a difficult time, whether it is coping with your loved one’s cancer diagnosis, treatment, or any other aspect of their cancer journey. The ways they can help you will vary.
If it is difficult for you to reach out to people in your own family, a friend’s family can help direct you to the steps to take to make sure you are safe and cared for. They can help you address your needs. School counselors and teachers can also listen to you and make you feel seen and heard.
Therapists, too, can provide a nonjudgmental experience external to the people who already know you. They can provide you with a fresh perspective, as well as innovative ways to address your emotional needs.
A Few Simple Ways Someone Could Support You
- They can listen to you without judgment and keep an open mind.
- They can give you time to process your emotions, as the thoughts you will be processing may feel overwhelming.
- Teachers and classmates can help you with your schoolwork.
- Therapists can give you room to explore and articulate your feelings and give you guidance on how to think about the circumstances you are facing.
Conclusion
Living with and caring for a loved one who has cancer can bring with it many emotional challenges. Such an experience can bring with it waves of emotions that would be difficult for any teenager to handle. What is more, it can be a daunting task to look within yourself and realize that you may need help. Nevertheless, it is possible to find ways to seek help and take care of your mental health.
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