Managing your anxiety

Stress and anxiety can make you feel nervous, worried and tense. These feelings can affect your appetite (stopping eating or comfort eating) and your sleep patterns.

Physical signs of stress and anxiety can include muscle tension, tightness in the chest, and a racing heart rate. In some cases anxiety can become so overwhelming that it leads to panic attacks, causing further fear and worry.

There are various techniques and talking therapies specifically designed to help you cope at a difficult time.

• Distraction - involves learning to focus on the things around you so that you can shut out negative thoughts.
• Relaxation, visualisation and meditation - can be used separately or together to reduce stress and tension, relax the mind and body and help improve wellbeing.
• Counselling - one-to-one counselling takes place in a private and confidential setting. You will be able to explore feelings such as anger, anxiety and grief which can be related to your cancer diagnosis, making them easier to understand and cope with.
• Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) - can help you to change patterns of thinking and behaviour that may be stopping you from moving forward. Unlike some techniques, it focuses on problems and difficulties you are having in the ‘here and now’. Instead of exploring causes of your distress or symptoms in the past, it looks for ways to improve your state of mind in the present.

If you think you might benefit from these techniques, your breast care nurse or GP will be able to advise you on how to access them.