Anxiety And Depression, Their Links With Breast Cancer!
Anxiety, Depression, And Breast Cancer:
Anxiety, and Depression are common in women with breast cancer, but they are often overlooked and, therefore, under-treated. The good news is that there are effective treatments for both anxiety and depression. With careful management, the symptoms of anxiety and depression can be treated along with those of breast cancer so you can live as well as possible.
This article provides information on anxiety and depression, their links with breast cancer, treatments available for anxiety and depression, and how to help yourself or someone close to you.
1. Anxiety:
Anxiety is the body’s natural response to danger, an automatic alarm that goes off when you feel threatened, under pressure, or is facing a stressful situation. In moderation, anxiety isn’t always a bad thing. In fact, anxiety can help you stay alert and focused, spur you to action, and motivate you to solve problems.
But when anxiety is constant or overwhelming, when it interferes with your relationships and activities, it stops being functional, that’s when you’ve crossed the line from normal, productive anxiety into the territory of anxiety disorders.
However,
For some people, anxious feelings happen for no apparent reason or are more intense and continue after the stressful event has passed. For a person experiencing anxiety, these intense feelings cannot be brought under control easily.
Anxiety can be a serious condition that makes it hard for a person to cope with daily life. There are many types of anxiety and many people with anxiety experience symptoms of more than one type. Living with breast cancer is one of many things that may trigger anxiety. Anxiety is common, but the sooner you get help, the sooner you can begin to recover.
Symptoms of Anxiety:
The symptoms of anxiety often develop gradually over time. Given that we all experience some anxious feelings, it can be hard to know how much is too much. In order to be diagnosed with an anxiety condition, it must have a major impact on your life.
Some common symptoms of anxiety include:
- Racing heart.
- Tightening of the chest.
- Snowballing worries.
- Focusing on worry and not being able to distract yourself.
- Trouble sleeping.
- Feeling jumpy, restless or shaky.
- There are effective treatments available for anxiety.
2. Depression:
Depression is a real illness that impacts the brain. Anyone suffering from depression will tell you, it’s not imaginary or all in your head. Depression is more than just feeling down. It is a serious illness caused by changes in brain chemistry.
Research tells us that other factors contribute to the onset of depression, including genetics, changes in hormone levels, certain medical conditions, stress, grief or difficult life circumstances. Any of these factors alone or in combination can precipitate changes in brain chemistry that lead to depression’s many symptoms.
3. Breast Cancer, And The Links With Anxiety, Depression:
Research shows that anxiety and depression are common among women with breast cancer. One study found that up to 50 percent of women with early breast cancer may experience anxiety and/or depression in the year after diagnosis. It is understood that fewer women experience these conditions in the second, third and fourth years.
However, up to 15 percent of women may still experience these conditions in the fifth year after diagnosis.
I. Physical Changes:
Symptoms of breast cancer treatment such as tiredness and pain can put a person at greater risk of developing anxiety and depression.
- It can also make anxiety and depression difficult to diagnose as these symptoms
can be masked by side-effects of treatment for breast cancer. - In addition to this, some breast cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy and hormone therapies, can cause chemical changes in the brain.
- This can also put a person at greater risk of experiencing anxiety and depression.
II. Lifestyle Changes:
When you have breast cancer, there are many changes you may have to deal with including:
- Coming to terms with “why me?”
- Dealing with the uncertainty of the illness and imagining the worst.
- Dealing with tiredness and the side effects of treatment.
- Making family, work and financial adjustments in anticipation of treatment and/or periods of being unwell.
- Dealing with the response of partners, children, family, and friends.
- These changes can cause ongoing stress which puts a person at greater risk of experiencing anxiety and depression.
4. Anxiety And Depression Treatments?
Talking and emotional support can help to reduce the stress of coping with breast cancer, but if things become more difficult, professional help may be needed There is no one proven way that people recover from anxiety or depression and it’s different for everybody.
However,
- There is a range of effective treatments and health professionals who can help people on the road to recovery.
- There are also many things that people with anxiety or depression and breast cancer can do to help them to recover and stay well.
- The important thing is finding the right treatment and the right health professional that works for you.
- Different types of anxiety or depression require different types of treatment.
These May Include:
- Physical exercise for preventing and treating mild anxiety, and depression, counseling by a trained health professional or, in some circumstances, treatment with antidepressant medications.
- The treatment for anxiety and depression in someone with breast cancer involves a coordinated approach managed by your primary health professional that monitors and treats the symptoms of anxiety, depression and breast cancer.
5. Psychological Treatments:
Psychological treatments can help with recovery and prevent anxiety or depression from recurring. These treatments help build skills in coping with stressful life circumstances and can be provided by a psychologist, psychiatrist or other trained health professional.
I. Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT):
- CBT is an effective treatment for people with anxiety and depression.
- It teaches people to evaluate their thinking about common difficulties.
- helping them to identify unhelpful patterns of thinking and modify these thought patterns and the way they react to certain situations.
II. Interpersonal Therapy (IPT):
IPT is also effective for treating depression and some types of anxiety. It helps people find new ways to get along with others and to resolve losses, changes, and conflict in relationships.
III. Relaxation Training Guided Imagery:
Relaxation Training or guided Imagery are techniques which are very effective for reducing anxiety, however, they do require practice before the best benefit is achieved.
6. Medication:
A. Antidepressant Medication:
Antidepressant Medication is sometimes used along with psychological therapies to treat moderate to severe depression and some anxiety conditions. Making a decision about which antidepressant is best for a person can be complex. The decision will be made in consultation with a doctor, after careful assessment and consideration.
The doctor should discuss differences in effects, possible side effects of medications, and whether they can interact with other medications you are taking. Stopping medication should only be done gradually, with a doctor’s recommendation and under supervision.
B. Facts, Antidepressant Medication:
- Antidepressant medication doesn’t change your personality.
- While antidepressants can make you feel better.
- Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in mental health.
- Taking antidepressant medication is not a sign of weakness. Depression is an illness, not a
- character flaw. Taking medication to relieve symptoms does not mean you are weak.
- Antidepressants are not addictive. If you stop taking the medication, you may start to feel the way you did before the treatment.
C. Who Can Assist?
- A General Practitioner is a good first step to discuss your concerns.
- Psychologists are health professionals who provide psychological therapies such as cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and interpersonal therapy (IPT).
- Mental health nurses are specially trained to care for people with mental health conditions.
- Social workers in mental health.
- Occupational therapists in mental health help people who, because of a mental health condition, have difficulty participating in normal, everyday activities.
D. How Can Family, And Friends Help?
When a person has breast cancer and anxiety or depression, it can affect those close to them. It’s important for family and friends to look after their own health as well as looking after the person who has breast cancer.
Steps:
- Learn about the symptoms of anxiety and depression to help you recognize warning signs.
- Encourage your family member to go to the doctor if her anxiety or depression gets worse.
- Support your family member by helping her to follow her treatment and mental health plans.
- Gently remind the person to take her cancer, anxiety and depression medications regularly and to attend all their medical appointments.
- Encourage the person with breast cancer to do things she would normally enjoy.
- Look after your own health by eating well, exercising regularly, getting enough sleep and doing things that you enjoy, too.
If you find this article useful, don’t forget to share it with your friends and family, as you might help someone in need. Thanks.
Disclaimer: “Nothing in this article makes any claim to offer cures or treatment of any disease or illness. If you are sick please consult with your doctor.”
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