How to stop being afraid of cancer
There is a psychological pathology called cancerophobia. This is the fear of contracting cancer. Systemic psychoanalysis helps to deal with the causes of the occurrence and get rid of it forever …
Someone advises you to relax and calm down, they say, if it was cancer, you would not be there for a long time. Someone is annoyed at your suspiciousness and constant preoccupation with the same topic. But there is nothing you can do about your thoughts: “Maybe I have cancer? How to tell if there is a reason for fear or my fantasies? How to stop being afraid of cancer? That's all you want to know, because there is no longer any strength to live permanently in this fear.
There is a psychological pathology called cancerophobia. This is the fear of contracting cancer. Systemic psychoanalysis, which is conducted at the training of Yuri Burlan "System-vector psychology", helps to understand the causes of the occurrence and get rid of it forever. Let's use it to outline the ways out of the fear of oncology.
Carcinophobia or health care - how to understand?
How can you tell if paying close attention to your health is just a concern or a phobia? To do this, let's see how this fear arises and what symptoms it manifests itself in.
Remember how it all began, what was the impetus. This could be:
- the incessant flow of information from the Internet and television about the incurable diseases of the stars and the collection of donations for the treatment of cancer patients;
- reading books, watching films about cancer patients;
- the news that a terrible diagnosis has been made to someone close or familiar;
- people who have gone through a difficult cycle of cancer treatment may have a fear of a relapse of the disease.
In this case, the following symptoms may occur:
- constant worrying thoughts about the possibility of getting cancer. Any spot on the body, minor pain is perceived in panic;
- an increased background of anxiety does not allow to live normally, to concentrate on solving problems;
- a lot of efforts are made to identify the disease, make a diagnosis - visits to doctors, tests, medications. Or, on the contrary, it covers a paralyzing fear of being examined so that, God forbid, a terrible disease is not discovered;
- even in the absence of a confirmed diagnosis - the inability to relax. Fear does not let go, even if you understand with your mind that there is nothing to fear;
- phobia can manifest itself physically - dizziness, nausea, loss of appetite, increased heart rate, tremors, sweating - and even go into a panic attack.
This is how the victims of carcinophobia describe their symptoms on the forums: “How to stop being afraid of getting cancer? After all, I have a bad heredity - all my grandparents died of oncology. I've seen enough of all sorts of programs about cancer on television, and now I have paranoia - as soon as something hurts somewhere, my stomach hurts, my thoughts begin to rush about in panic: "Maybe it's a tumor?" I went to the doctor, got tested. Analyzes are normal. The doctor prescribed sedatives. But all the same, bad soaps come into my head. I'm afraid to leave my children orphans. My husband doesn’t want to listen, he says that I have everything because I’m sitting at home … I’m already climbing the wall”.
"I am 26. All the time dizzy, weakness, nausea torments. Doctors diagnose VSD. But I do not believe. It seems to me all the time that it is a brain tumor. Although I have had this condition for five years, I'm terribly afraid of getting cancer."
It looks like carcinophobia.
It is quite natural to think about your health when you hear about a terrible illness of loved ones or friends. It is normal for recurrent ailments or chronic illnesses to force you to undergo routine examinations. It is good if the anxiety goes away after a frank conversation with a loved one and after his advice to relax and not worry, the tension releases. This indicates temporary stress, exacerbating the emotion of fear.
But if thoughts about cancer torment you all the time - day and night, provoking insomnia, preventing you from living fully, and normal test results do not convince you of anything, you become a hostage of an anxiety disorder - carcinophobia. The consequences of such a life are easy to predict. You will constantly impose unnecessary restrictions on yourself, go on diets, try the latest anti-aging and cancer drugs. Dramatically enrich the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. Your life will turn into an endless fight against windmills. And this struggle can already really affect your health.
Therefore, one must get out of this fear. How to stop being afraid of getting cancer? To begin with, understand the reasons for its occurrence.
Causes of carcinophobia
Carcinophobia is a derivative of the fear of death. No one is born with this fear, except for 5% of the population, who have a visual vector in their psychic. Their fear of death is a much stronger emotion than most people.
In visual children, this fear most often manifests itself as a fear of the dark. After all, they only feel safe when their most sensitive analyzer is working - vision. And in the dark, they begin to think that invisible dangers lie in wait everywhere.
If this emotion in children is not developed into sympathy, love, and other strong and positive experiences, fears can evolve and multiply - from fear of insects to carcinophobia. That is, carcinophobia can occur only in people with a visual vector in the following cases:
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when in childhood the parents did not pay attention to the development of feelings or the child was intimidated;
- when there are feelings, there are a lot of them, but in life there is nowhere to apply them - there is no one to love, no one to communicate with, no impressions, “I sit at home, I don't work, I don't see anyone”;
- in a situation of super stress, for example, a loved one died, divorce, separation.
Watch a fragment of the training in which Yuri Burlan talks about the emergence of fear of death:
Spectators are also distinguished by an extremely developed imagination, which, if directed in the wrong direction, can cause excessive impressionability and suspiciousness. Such a person, when leading about a threat to life, tries on the situation for himself and is so worried about it that he may even feel the symptoms of a disease that does not exist in reality.
Therefore, it is important for a victim of cancer phobia to begin with understanding that fear is irrational and has no real basis. Its causes lie in the unconscious. And then take action.
How to stop being afraid of getting cancer
So, just two steps will bring you closer to a cure for oncophobia:
- If you are concerned about vague body aches, recurring symptoms, see a specialist and get tested. But it is worth remembering that you cannot stop at this step, because even knowing that everything is in order with you will not relieve you of fear.
- If you have already passed all the examinations and are convinced that there is no cancer, you can proceed to systemic psychological methods.
We contact a specialist
It is very important to consult a doctor in time, not to wait for it to "resolve itself". If there are warning signs, the sooner you do it, the better. Indeed, in the early stages, most types of cancer are curable, so early diagnosis can prevent possible problems.
Since you are worried about the fear of contracting cancer, it would be reasonable to first consult an oncologist who will competently draw up an examination plan taking into account your individual characteristics and risks without unnecessary financial costs. In any case, it should be a specialist, not a girlfriend or an Internet blogger without medical education.
If you are at risk, you should see your doctor. Risk factors include:
- age over 55;
- excess weight;
- excessive alcohol consumption;
- smoking;
- genetic predisposition to oncology (if there were cases of cancer in the family);
- some viral and infectious diseases, for example, the human papillomavirus, which often causes oncology of cervical cancer;
- excessive sun exposure.
How to find a good doctor
An equally important question is how to find a doctor you can trust who won't call you a fake or use your fear as a way to make money. For this, it is good to have knowledge of human vectors.
Most often, doctors are the owners of three vectors: anal, skin, and visual. Without an anal vector, it is difficult to be a doctor, since he needs a phenomenal memory, patience, the ability to deeply study the subject. If the doctor is unhurried, thorough, asks you in detail, paying attention to the smallest details, he has a tidy desk and a clean uniform, you are in luck - he has an anal vector in good condition. He is an honest person who works efficiently and will follow through with the best result for you.
If a person has more of a skin vector, he will look different. On the one hand, such a doctor is more interested in new technologies and is aware of all the latest medical innovations. He has a natural interest in maintaining health. On the other hand, in an age of universal focus on money and success, the owner of the skin vector without correctly aligned value guidelines can put his benefit above a sincere desire to help a person in his problem, to achieve a result.
Be careful if the doctor does everything very quickly, as if he knows in advance what you need. He may be punctual, helpful, but you may feel that he is completely uninterested in you, as well as your illness. He somehow deliberately emphasizes his status, diplomas and regalia, not during the reception, but surrounded. He will recommend expensive examinations and lengthy treatment plans. It’s even worse if the doctor is fussy, inattentive, unable to concentrate on you, and is constantly distracted by signals from the world around him.
And of course, in your position, you should not go to a doctor who has not developed the ability for empathy, sympathy in the visual vector. After all, you, like no one else, need sympathy, in order to be listened to and to take your problems seriously, not to devalue your doubts and fears. A good doctor with a vision vector is empathic and delicate. Only by listening carefully will he be able to help you by this alone. After all, you may have no one else to talk about your fears with.
Prepare for the meeting. Remember all the symptoms, write them down so as not to forget from the excitement during the appointment and give the doctor a complete picture of the problem.
Eliminate the psychological cause of fear
So, the examinations are completed. There is no cause for concern. Don't wait for fear to return in a week with renewed vigor - take action. To get rid of carcinophobia, the most important thing is to deal with psychological issues, and then only you yourself can do it.
A person with a visual vector has great intelligence and great potential for emotions. If some of this rich baggage is not used, superstitions and fears arise. For example, a spectator can sacredly believe that he was jinxed, instead of turning on his mind and finding the cause of his ailments.
- Knowledge instead of fantasy. Evidence-based medicine is increasingly spreading around the world. Everyone has access to the websites of any organizations and foundations dealing with the problem of oncology on the Internet. Here you can find the latest and most reliable information on the state of the art in cancer treatment. And understand how many myths are associated with this topic. For example, that we have a cancer epidemic. For all that we constantly hear about cancer, it is still not such a common disease. A person is much more likely to die in an accident than to become a victim of cancer.
- Stop eating informational fast food. Deliberately limit yourself to reading "cognitive" medical literature and Internet sites in order to search for symptoms of the disease and new remedies for its treatment. Unsubscribe from the mailings of would-be doctors without medical education who are trying to treat all diseases on the Internet, including who supposedly know how to get rid of the fear of getting cancer. Respect yourself and your mind. He was given to you not to superstition, but to know.
- Concentrate on realizing the senses. And the most important thing. As we have already said, fears, panic attacks occur when the feelings of a person with a visual vector are not realized. When a volcano of emotions remains inside, a person becomes fixated on internal experiences and sensations, gives excessive attention to even minor details.
Start small - get out of the house, chat, meet friends, visit your parents. Make a conscious effort to feel and empathize with people.
Perhaps you are already afraid of yourself and have forbidden yourself to watch "heavy" films about grief, human pain, suffering, and even more so about cancer: fear is even more intense. Try to watch such films from a different angle, feel sympathy for the heroes, let yourself cry, sob to your heart's content. You will see, it will become easier for you.
And maybe you will even try a radical, but very powerful remedy - volunteering, caring for the sick in a hospice, or simply taking care of lonely old people, orphans, as Yuri Burlan recommends at the training. It seems that this is impossible in your position, after all, and so scary, but here it is still face to face. But thanks to this ACT, fear disappears and love comes in its place. Awareness of the causes of fear, which occurs at the training "System-vector psychology", helps a lot. Read how one of the trainees of Yuri Burlan's training writes about her experience of volunteering:
Yuri Burlan says about deliberate volunteering:
Don't be alone with your fear. The problem is solved by the methods of training "System-vector psychology". This is evidenced by the reviews of those who passed it:
