How Women Can Beat Depression After Breast Cancer

Depression after a diagnoisis of breast cancer is common. As if one didn't have enough to deal with! Treatment decisions, personal and family stress, financial concerns, and emotional upheaval only complicates a breast cancer diagnosis. Many women have fibromyalgia symptoms which only complicates everything.

Do you know the difference between depression and situational depression? Depression is defined as a mental state of altered mood characterized by feelings of sadness, despair and discouragement. Situational depression is an episode of emotional and psychological depression that occurs in response to a specific set of external conditions or circumstances.

You can manage situational depression before it controls you and your life.There is hope.

Talk to your doctor or other healthcare professional. Don't hide the fact that you are depressed. The worse thing that you can do is to hide and ignore how you truly feel. We are breast cancer survivors. It is easy for us to conceal our true feelings. Being strong does not mean to be totally unaware of our mental state. Get an accurate diagnosis now. You may or may not need treatment with natural remedies and/or prescribed anti-depressants. Do not be afraid.

Remember, each tomorrow is different! Each day is what it is. When you wake up, you will know. Be kind to yourself and be flexible. No more rigid days. Tell everyone that your schedule is subject to change. Don't be afraid to rest and take care of you.

You can manage situational depression before it controls you and your day. Start something new that can be completed as you take rest periods. The reason I started blogging was due to the fact that I wanted to jumpstart my writing. While lying in bed or in a recliner. It's your mind and body. You rule!

Face it. Your cup can only handle so much. A breast cancer diagnosis brings on a set of new and seemingly impossible challenges. Remember, only you determine each day what fills your cup. Could it be that you are contributing to situational depression by holding an overfilled cup? Too tired? Too fatigued? Too much?

The spilling over of your time, and valuable energy leads to a loss of control and can block hope. Without hope, we cannot face and overcome those chalenges which have entered into our Pinkboxer world.

What is in your cup right now? Is it filled with what you desire, or what others surrounding you expect? Unrealistic expectations can destroy your joy. This day is yours. Maybe you need to pour out that cup. Take a deep breath, and refill it with what you can accomplish today, and only that.

Manage your own cup. Savor the fragrant aroma of self-control. Taste the wonderful world you have created today on your own terms. This too shall pass.

Let's face it. Although we hate to admit it, some days nothing moves. Our minds say run a marathon, but in reality our bodies are not going anywhere today. It is as though a mountain looms before us. Immovable. And we do not have the strength to climb it. Not today. Maybe tomorrow. That's how it goes in our Pinkboxer universe. Remember, you are not the only breast cancer survivor who exists in this galaxy. Keep your joy.

Okay, you had your whole day planned perfectly when you went to bed last night. You had it all under control. But when you woke up, a mountain of depression loomed before you. Your day just went up in smoke. Or so you thought. Relax. Quickly make another plan. Be flexible. Go with the flow. Your energy levels will change like the wind. If you don't take control of your depression, it will control you. Sometimes you just have to sit down and enjoy the view.

Breast cancer will force you to lose all of your perfectionist tendencies. Ask me how I know. Do only what is possible for you today. That truly is all we have, anyway. Camp out at the bottom of that mountain. Pitch tent and enjoy yourself. Smell the flowers where you are. The possibilities are endless. Much can be discovered in the valley if you allow yourself to search for it. Tomorrow is a new day.