Relaxation For Women With Breast Cancer

The treatment process for women with breast cancer is long, and psychological support is very important from the beginning. In this respect, psycho-education plays a crucial role, which means that women are given information about the disease and the techniques that can be used to improve their health, both physically and mentally. It is thus a question of interventions that benefit the person as a whole.

We will dedicate this article to talking about the importance of relaxation for women with breast cancer . The purpose of integrating relaxation techniques into treatment is to teach us to control our level of activation by changing various physiological conditions.

It is necessary to understand that relaxation exercises tend to increase the parasympathetic activation and decrease the activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Relaxation is a state of hypoactivation, which is characterized by low heart rate, peripheral vasodilation, diaphragmatic respiration, low muscle activation…

In addition to a reduction in physiological activation, however, relaxation exercises also have other cognitive effects. This is about an increased feeling of relaxation, focus and new thinking, about greater self-control and the ability to distinguish different physiological reactions.

As Aaron T. Beck points out with regard to the cognitive aspect, it is our thoughts that create the perceptions we have about ourselves, the wrong or distorted ideas that instead of helping us in the fight against cancer make it more difficult for us.

The cognitive aspect is fundamental in the treatment of breast cancer, because our thoughts can create a positive mood or, conversely, give us a more negative view of our disease. Positive thoughts strengthen our self-esteem, our fighting spirit, our motivation and our adherence to treatment.

When can we use relaxation for breast cancer?

Breast cancer patients may benefit from relaxation exercises to avoid nausea and vomiting associated with chemotherapy and certain types of radiation therapy (linked to discomfort-stimulating stimuli). In a way, we try to counteract the effects of this kind of conditioned stimuli, which are common in patients who have already undergone several treatments.

In addition, relaxation leads to an improvement in the emotional state of patients who are confronted with various tests and test results. Finally, relaxation contributes to  increased self-control and a reduced risk of impulsive actions, which are often attractive due to the frustrations that the disease can give rise to.

What kind of relaxation exercises are there?

The choice of appropriate relaxation technique is determined by various factors, such as our knowledge of the technique, the background to our anxiety and the time we have at our disposal. Below we will take a look at two of the most important techniques for breast cancer patients.

• Progressive Muscle Relaxation (Jacobson) : The purpose of this is to identify your level of tension and use relaxation strategies every time you feel tension in your body.

We can learn to understand our tensions through relaxation exercises that involve consciously tensing different muscles in the body and then relaxing. The exercise is repeated, but with less intensity, so that the tension gradually decreases.

• Guided visualization:  means that you make a mental journey with the help of perceptions of experiences, situations and / or places that make you happy. In this way, you register various sensory stimuli associated with places where you can be relaxed.

Every day has its own goal

You are facing a difficult stage in cancer therapy: an chemotherapy treatment, another round of radiation therapy, a visit to the oncologist for another test. Look beyond the fear and anxiety in your body and mind for a relaxed state that will help you cope and get through the phase you are now in.

Anyone who has suffered from breast cancer or who has any idea of ​​what it means knows that the suffering that the disease is associated with can hardly be measured. A person who receives the message: “you have cancer” experiences countless feelings of e.g. fear, anxiety and worry.

Every day has its own goal ; step by step we are faced with problems that we must sort out. It is impossible not to think about the future and what awaits us when the treatment is over, not to worry that it will do no good, that the process will continue and that the measures taken to fight the cancer will be insufficient.

It is precisely because we have to deal with this anxiety, and the thoughts and feelings we experience, that relaxation becomes so important for women with breast cancer.