Oncology patients are a group with high incidence of psychological problems, especially lung cancer patients, who are facing many psychological problems. How to help them face up to and accept the reality and overcome the “psychological threshold” in the process of treatment?
Cancer is an existential threat
When we talk about cancer, we often add the phrase “a catastrophic threat equal to death! But it’s worth noting that people seem to have a natural protective mechanism in that we usually think that death is far away, that it’s someone else’s business, and that it won’t happen to us.
For example, when it is repeatedly emphasized that smoking causes cancer, most people continue to smoke because this natural protection mechanism makes us think “it can’t happen to me, I won’t be the unlucky one! . However, when cancer really strikes, this taken-for-granted self-confidence faces its greatest crisis, with core beliefs destroyed and survival threatened, leading to a series of psychosocial problems.
The most classic description of the psychological process of cancer patients is the 5 steps described by Kubler-Ross. The 5 steps described by Ross are
1. Shock and denial
That is, the inability to accept the truth, as described above, is a protective mechanism.
2. Anger period
The emotional reaction due to the feeling of injustice.
3.Bargaining period
Dwelling on the effect of treatment, survival period, etc.
4.Depression period
Grief, mourning, etc.
5.Acceptance period
Gradual acceptance as the awareness process deepens.
Some patients will also enter the post-traumatic growth period afterwards, i.e. positive coping for the traumatic event.
5 common types of coping styles of cancer patients
1. Fighting type
Seeing cancer as a challenge, having a positive attitude towards the outcome, actively seeking information about the disease but never going overboard; and trying to return oneself to a normal life.
2. Avoidance Denial Type
Denying the impact of cancer, minimizing the threat caused by the diagnosis, and envisioning a good prognosis, but sometimes delaying the timeliness of treatment.
3.Fatalism
The diagnosis of cancer represents a less important threat, holds a negative acceptance attitude, and lacks a positive strategy to treat cancer.
4.Helplessness and hopelessness type
Patients are completely crushed by the great threat of cancer, see the diagnosis as a major threat to survival, loss or defeat, consider the situation uncontrollable, and speculate on the worst negative outcome, presenting a state of giving up.
5.Anxious and preoccupied type
The most obvious manifestation is anxiety all day long, worrying about the recurrence of the disease most of the time, recognizing any slight symptom as a sign of disease progress or recurrence, and searching excessively for information about cancer and asking repeatedly to ensure peace of mind.
Scientific elimination of psychological barriers
These include muscle relaxation, deep whistling, hypnosis, meditation, guided imagery, music to soothe the emotions, etc. to give yourself a new sense of self-control.
Several methods are described below.
1, meditation
(1) body sitting upright, relaxed body and mind, as if listening to a good friend.
(2) Silently close your eyes. Observe your own whistling, preferably using abdominal whistling.
(3) Take a deep breath in, then hold your breath and let the gas linger in your body for a while, whistling. Listen to the sound of your own whistle in both ears and remove distracting thoughts.
(4) Observe and experience your own whistle as if you were a spectator, without paying special attention to the frequency of your whistle, and let it keep the most natural flowing rhythm.
(5) Focus your attention on the organ that you think senses the strongest whistle, which could be your diaphragm, chest or under your nostrils.
(6) meditation association, experience the association: “sitting alone in a stream and let the water flow” mood.
2.Deep whistle
(1) Relax your body, and adjust your inhalation.
(2) compress the abdomen to exhale quickly from the mouth, hold your breath, do not inhale.
(3) Repeat step 2 until you feel the abdomen has been close to the back waist.
(4) press the lower abdomen with your hand, open the mouth and nose to inhale the air directly into the tip of the lungs, at this time the hand should be pushed up.
Note: In this process, the average person will make a mistake is that every time he exhaled a small breath, our purpose is to exhale, so never inhale, until the fourth step to take a big breath, and will have the feeling of living. The lungs will be full of air and there will be a very satisfied feeling. Try not to expand your chest when you breathe in, it depends on your will to control it.
Some people will quickly expand the front of the abdomen, but can not suck down, so special control of the front of the abdomen do not let it bulge, try to lower the diaphragm, so that the air down to the tip of the lungs.
3, music to soothe
Music is like medicine, to “listen to the right song”, music therapy should be selected according to the different physical patients, different patients should be combined with their own situation to choose the right track for treatment.
(1) At present, music therapy is generally conducted by direct audio playback, but there are also therapists or patients who use musical instruments to communicate with each other. The instruments used for communication are generally guitars, which are easy to carry and have soft and quiet tunes.
(2) Music therapy includes four aspects: listening, singing, playing, and movement.
Listening is the most important and requires patients to relax, immerse themselves in the music, imagine the scene with the music, and experience the lyrics. Singing is divided into solo and choral singing. Solo singing can serve to enhance the musical experience, and choral singing can cause more resonance, as well as exercise the patient’s lungs. Playing can help rehabilitate unconscious limbs and also allow patients to improvise. Movement, on the other hand, refers to dancing to music and also dancing with others.
(3) When listening to music, the volume should be moderate, generally the best therapeutic effect is below 70 decibels. Music therapy 2 to 3 times a day, each time to about 20 minutes is appropriate, treatment can not always repeat a piece of music, so as not to get tired of listening for a long time.