Mental Health and Mesothelioma

If you have been diagnosed with mesothelioma, you may feel like everything in your life has changed. You may be overwhelmed by the side effects of treatment, having to tell people you have mesothelioma cancer, the effects of your condition on your family, and the fear of death. 

Although mesothelioma treatment has traditionally focused only on physical interventions, many mesothelioma doctors recognize that mental health plays an important role in treatment outcomes. As a result, mesothelioma treatment centers often include mental health support in the treatment plan.

Mesothelioma symptoms and treatment can take a toll on your mental health, no matter how strong you are. Finding positive ways to cope is an important factor in your post-diagnosis quality of life, whether your condition worsens or improves.

Common Mental Health Conditions Associated With Mesothelioma

According to Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 35 to 40 percent of cancer patients experience a diagnosable psychiatric disorder, with higher percentages for patients with advanced cancer. Mesothelioma is a rare cancer that is often in an advanced stage at the time of diagnosis. 

Read on for more information and to find the original article including how Mindfulness helps with a diagnosis HERE.

Meditation for Seniors

Written by Christian Simmons

Meditation can help reverse the rate of aging, especially when it comes to maintaining your gray matter, which is the part of your brain that helps control movement, emotion and memory. From reducing stress, anxiety, and depression to improving our attention spans, discover how meditation can benefit you as you get older and how to get started.

Multiple studies over the years have shown the benefits that meditating has on your brain and overall mental wellness. Not only can it help control stress, but it can also positively impact attention span, memory, verbal fluency, processing speed, overall cognitive flexibility, conflict monitoring, and even creativity. It can especially be worthwhile as you get older to help offset the mental aging process.

Read more about this topic and the full article here: https://www.retireguide.com/retirement-life-leisure/healthy-aging/mental-wellness/meditation/

October Moment of Mindfulness

Hello Everyone,

With living in Los Angeles thankfully there’s a ride-share program by the name of Access Para Transit that assists with providing curbside pick-up transportation for individuals with disabilities unable to drive and or utilize the metro public transportation system. Between the combination of having multiple pick-ups and drop-offs resulting from it being a ride-share program coupled with LA traffic sometimes I spend well over 3 hours traveling from one destination to another which normally would only take someone “Sighted” 30 to 45 minutes if they were driving themselves. This monthly Blog is not about that though I’ll save how I work with the feelings and thoughts of frustration and anger as a result of those 3 hour tours for another moment.

Instead, I wanted to share with you how on two different occasions during this month while talking to the Access drivers (something I make an effort to do on a regular basis in hopes of making time pass more quickly). In both of these particular conversations, the topic came up and I was eventually asked, “How are you handling your vision loss).

The answer might surprise you. I can honestly say that I have more overall Peace of Mind now that I am blind compared to the years in my life when I was fully “Sighted”. “How can this Be you might ask?” Losing my vision brought me kicking and screaming to the practice of Mindfulness. Learning Mindfulness skills helped with recognizing that most of my attention, time, and energy were directed at trying to control the physical world existing outside of me.

Unfortunately, these efforts were futile. Once I realized how little control I had over most of the objects and people in my environment the direction of my attention shifted inwards towards navigating the internal Universe that lies within. This radical shift in perspective and remembering to hold this orientation has made all of the difference towards my “bottom line” of equanimity. Equanimity is the mental ability to remain calm and relaxed no matter what’s going on (pleasant or unpleasant). I now invite you within your daily practice to begin to notice this tendency and if open to it recalibrate the direction of your attention to explore what I’m describing for yourself. Thank you for your time and attention.

Just Be & Be Well,

Eric Cooley, MSW, TMF