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How To Overcome Emotional Distress Among Children With Cancer?

How To Overcome Emotional Distress Among Children With Cancer?
Due to surgery, neuro-oncology, neuroradiology, and radiation oncology developments, low-grade gliomas and medulloblastomas have increased patient survival.

Emotional Distress Among Children with Cancer: How To Overcome It?

Written by Tavishi Dogra |Updated : October 6, 2022 8:10 PM IST

Paediatric Cancer is a traumatic experience a child and family must go through. It involves medical, parental care, and emotional support children need during those testing times. Often medical procedures can cause them irritation and create anxiety, leaving them depressed and lonely. They require a lot of reassurance and positivity around them, including parents and other family members talking to them regularly and staying with them. Consultant - Clinical Psychology Dr Satish Kumar CR, Manipal Hospital Old Airport Road, shares tips for children with cancer to cope with emotional breakdowns.

Coping Up With Emotional Breakdowns

  1. A graphic art format can assist cancer-diagnosed children in projecting their feelings out rather than keeping them inside. Make them express their emotions through writing, drawing, and speaking. If hospitalized, they should be made to walk and, if possible, be exposed to sunlight because these activities can raise serotonin levels.
  2. Talking about past happy memories is another good idea; making them talk about their favourite happy memories could yield a positive mood. They also need to talk to their friends in person or via video calls quite often because this helps them maintain healthy peer relationships, which is crucial for their mental health.
  3. Furthermore, making them visualize their best possible future self, which includes picturing themselves at home, healthy and happy, returning to school, and spending quality time with their friends and family, can help boost their optimism.
  4. A healthy balanced diet and regular physical and breathing exercises play a vital role in their daily activities, which can maintain their circadian rhythms. In addition, helping them with their academic perspective should make them feel less burdened; sitting with them while they study and do assignments and motivating them with their studies should be a good idea.
  5. Having a role model will always inspire them to overcome insecurities and low moods as they will always seek the best qualities from their role model whenever required. Moreover, developing a new hobby, if they do not have any activities to practice, both indoor and outdoor activities such as games, sports or creative craft work, can help them cope well with the emotional lows and breakdowns.

Keeping A Positive Mood

  1. Passive activities like watching movies, listening to music, and reading comics and novels are the best cognitive distractions.
  2. Have a constant check of their thoughts and mood by talking to them regularly or asking them to write a diary.
  3. Effortful assertive self-talk can break the chain of default negative thoughts.
  4. Having a sense of spirituality, praying regularly, and believing in nature can keep them positive and help them gain mental support whenever they feel helpless.

However, parents should be careful about discussing health-related issues in front of their children and avoid doing so, as hearing their parents or other family members discuss their health can result in anxiety in them.

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