#9 Delving deeper.....a bit of brain science
Why my belief system is so important on this journey specifically.
Sonya M.
4 min read
I pretty much knew at the end of the very first appointment to have the biopsy that I was looking down the barrel of breast cancer and I was completely okay knowing that. Since being diagnosed I have thought about the inital reactions and attempts to reassure me and I had to quickly jump in with "it's totally okay, I'm okay". There were "you must be devastated", "You must be in shock at finding that out", "You poor thing that's just awful", "oh God how terrible for you".
All these reactive comments are so normal and they come from a place of love, concern and caring and I appreciate all them and for me they told me exactly how my friend was feeling at my news. They felt devastated for me, they were in shock, they felt awful and terrible. Generally what we say to others is a reflection of what we are feeling for ourself or about ourselves. Something to ponder.
It is because of those reactions and the reassurance I was continually providing that I was okay with it all, that prompted this Blog and to share my journey. To normalise the conversations, to hopefully share something that will someone else either on their own journey or may have a similar journey in the future and this helps them in some way.
My belief, and it is mine....is that health professionals, Doctors in particular, have a massive responsibility when it comes to sharing information. Not only what they share, more importantly, how they share it. You cannot unhear what a Doctor tells you because they are so trusted.
First words used to me by the Doctor who received my scan and biopsy results was "It's not good and it's very serious"! WTF!!! I can only imagine [but I don't], how the rest of that discussion would have gone. Straight off the bat, doom and gloom. I quickly stopped that conversation as I mentioned in a previous blog and told him that the gravity of what I was dealing with was not lost on me but no amount of detail on the diagnosis was going to serve me in anyway.
I like to use the analogy of my car. It's leaking oil and I take it to the mechanic and he identifies where the oil leak is coming from. I don't need to know all the ins and outs of where the leak is originating from or how that might have happened and the name of the parts that might be needed, I just need the plan - Book it in next week and we will take care of it" is all I need to know, apart from the $$ of course. That's it!
I could go on and on about the power of our brain and unconscious mind in particular and how the significant role they play, supporting medical treatments and in this case, my journey back to wellness.
Until the next blog..... Cheers, Son'
The belief system that I subscribe to is built on years of personal growth and largely working with and training with Maz Schirmer and gaining invaluable insight to how the female brain and unconscious mind works. Not only how it works but more importantly how, when we harness that, the difference it can make and on this particular journey, it is significant.
Women for the most part, I won't generalise because there is always going to be the exceptions, link emotion to just about everything. A really great explanation of this is provided by Mark Gungor, in "The Tale of Two Brains".
I tend to link emotion to just about everything and that is part of why I did not want details of my diagnosis or the kind of chemo I would be having as those details would likely invoke emotions of anxiety, sadness etc., and then I'm stuck with THOSE emotions linked to my journey instead of feeling empowered, confident and totally okay with it all.
Let's talk about stress. What is it? Well the word "stress" formally defined is a state of mental or emotional tension resulting from difficult or demanding situations. Stress can be mixed emotions, anger, worry, distress, fear.....you get the idea. For me the word "stress" is simply a label to capture all those mixed emotions.
When we stress, we go into fight or flight mode and that triggers the brain to release the stress hormones, primarily cortisol, adrenaline (epinephrine) and norepinephrine and they are all there to help us respond to threats and stressors, even perceived threats and stressors. For example: you catch this long curving 'thing'
out of the corner of your eye and instantly think "snake!" - you immediately
go into fight or flight mode even though, that "snake" turned out to be the hose
or a piece of rope.
Now here's the kicker!
When we remain in a stressed state [fight or flight], our brain is releasing those
stress hormones and they have a physical impact on us.
Short term, it's okay but long term is not. Chronic stress can lead to negative
effects. I am not going to share what because you may not want to know and I will
leave it up to you to have a read for yourself, if you choose.
The only thing I will say, is that one of the impacts is on our immune system and given that chemo is going to hammer my white blood cells, starting with a compromised immune system due to worry was not an option, and THAT is one of the big reasons why I requested that details were not shared. Having said that, it may also be the reason why someone else would want as much information about their diagnosis as possible.