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Gail Saltz, MD: Here are some ways to cope with stress when you have received a breast
cancer diagnosis and are going through treatment.
Getting a breast cancer diagnosis is stressful, no matter what, so thinking about how to manage
your stress is very important, not only for your peace of mind but for the furthering
of your treatments because the better frame of mind that you can be in, probably the more
helpful for really following through and being able to manage the treatments that are ahead
for you. Exercise is very important in terms of managing stress, that is, aerobic exercise
for probably 30 minutes a day for several times a week will really help manage your
stress level, eating well, sleeping well. We have a tendency to lose sleep when we are
anxious about something going on, so one thing that can be very useful is relaxation techniques
and that can be whatever works for you whether we are talking about five minutes of slow,
deep abdominal breathing, we could be talking about muscle relaxation where you tighten
each muscle group to a count of 5 and then relax it to a count of 5 and move from your
feet up your body to your head to relax the body which also relaxes the mind. We could
be talking about visual imagery where you picture sort of the most relaxing beautiful
place you know and you think about how it smells, how it feels while holding that picture
in your mind for a period of time, but it also could be one bubble bath listening to
music that you find relaxing, putting on a funny show that just sort of takes your mind
to a different place where you can relax and laugh a little bit. It's important to inject
those things into your day. It is also important to pick and choose who will you speak to about
this diagnosis. So friends who you trust, you are comfortable with, who can be a support
to you and if you don't have enough of those people or you feel more overwhelmed, group
therapy with other women who are going through a similar situation can be very helpful to
women who are feeling particularly stressed.