Dr Susan Kobasa: The Role of Emotional Patterning
Things became even more interesting when it was found that the immune system has a memory, and that painful memories or repeats of past experiences in which a person has failed or been defeated, can also trigger immune collapse. Researcher Dr Susan Kobasa had described a psychological syndrome she termed ‘learned helplessness’, when those who had experienced failure earlier in life tended to keep repeating the pattern. Now science was showing that this result was mirrored in the immune system. On the other hand, she had also found that a ‘personality hardiness’ in those who respond to stress as a stimulating challenge resulted in a similarly healthy immune response. Here, at last, was a reason why earlier researchers could not make a direct link between stress and cancer – it depended not on stress per se, but on how the individual responds to stress.
The lesson here is:
• It is very important to provide psychological support to those who are not coping well and who see themselves as losers in order to change this underlying negative belief and replace it with strong, positive coping skills and experience of success.
Dr Leslie Walker: The Role of Empowering Cancer Treatment
The final piece of the jigsaw appeared more recently from UK researcher Professor Leslie Walker, who has worked for more than 20 years on the connection between mind – body approaches and improved survival in women with breast cancer. His recent study showed a staggering 17.5 per cent increase in survival 13 years after treatment in women who were taught relaxation techniques and, through hypnosis, to believe that their chemotherapy would cure them. In this case, the benefit of the treatment itself was 15 per cent, so the effect of the mind was greater than that of the medicine! Most interesting of all was the fact that the women who achieved this huge rise in survival rate were those whom Walker called ‘women who were too nice’. The medical description was ‘women with a high level of social conformity’ who tended to look after everyone else and bottle-up their own feelings. He also found an increase in immune function after relaxation and hypnotherapy, so once again it appears that a positive belief in cure and recovery is vital.
The lessons here are:
• It is vital to use visualization, affirmations or hypnotherapy to empower your treatments and to develop belief in their ability to cure you.
• It is important to identify and help those who are too ‘other-focused’ and to help them learn how to put themselves first.
Professors Spiegel and Fawzy: The Role of Support
This all fits with earlier studies done in the US, looking at the effects of psychological support on survival in those with breast cancer and melanoma. Professor David Spiegel showed a doubling of the average breast cancer survival time in those who had weekly support; Professor Fawzy showed a drop in the melanoma death rate from 10 per cent to 2 per cent in those who received weekly support, and confirmed an improvement in immune function, too. The emphasis in both interventions was on the expression of feelings (rather than being positive).
The lessons here are that:
• It is vital to receive support in expressing your feelings rather than bottling them up.
• Being positive does not mean hiding your grief or anger.
Blowing the Myth of Positive Thinking
If, while reading this, you have been feeling upset and emotional, please know that those who have a fighting spirit are almost always those who also have strong emotions and a big reaction to their diagnosis. It is absolutely normal to feel shocked and grief-stricken after receiving a diagnosis of a serious illness. Having a fighting spirit does not mean being permanently positive about having cancer and a fixed, determined grin on your face!
Some readers may misinterpret the information above, believing that it is harmful to become emotional or feel despondent at times about what is going on. This could not be further from the truth. According to PNI, a good cry or outburst of anger are just as good for boosting immune function as having a good laugh. It is repressing your feelings and becoming depressed that flatten the immune response. In fact, ‘fighters’ are defined by their ability to face reality, expressing the appropriate emotional response and ‘bottoming out’ with their feelings, and THEN to set about gathering the information and support they need to mount a realistic, proactive response to their situation.
Working Out How You Are Dealing With Your Diagnosis
Do you think you are reacting with a fighting spirit and believe in your power to heal yourself?
If you think you are reacting with anything other than a fighting spirit and want to change this, it important that you find help and support to deal with your diagnosis differently. Please go to the Resources Directory (pages 255–417) to find help in contacting a counsellor or psychologist trained in cognitive behavioural therapy to help you learn a more positive coping style. Your oncology department may also have a clinical psychologist who can help you, especially if your pattern is to give up and collapse in the face of difficulty.
Do you believe in the power of your cancer treatments to cure you?
You may choose to work with a hypnotherapist to develop powerful positive associations with your treatments, or you could use the relaxation and visualization exercises given in Cope Positively with Cancer Treatment, a CD available from Health Creation (call the Helpline on 0845 009 3366), to empower your treatments.
Do you need help from prayer or spiritual healing?
Contact the local prayer group associated with your church or religious group. Find a healer through the National Federation of Spiritual Healers (helpline: 0845 123 2767). They also do distant healing through prayer for those who are unable to get to a healer. Some of their healers will visit the home or hospital if necessary.
Have you got enough psychological support to express your feelings fully?
Find out about local support groups and counsellors from your GP, the hospital or the Resources Directory (pages 255–417).
So, far from pretending you feel all right if you do not, with support, try to face what is really happening to you, express your feelings, and then create an action plan based on your true situation and needs. Once you have done this, you will feel genuinely positive that you have a working plan and are back in control again.
Underlying States of Mind that May Need to Change
As well as the states of mind that arise in reaction to the diagnosis, there is the question of what was going on for you emotionally before you were diagnosed. As you move into your healing journey, it is important to look at the big issues of:
• improving your will to live
• decreasing your stress levels
• learning to express your feelings in everyday life
• letting go of loneliness and depression
• healing emotional wounds from the past