Mindfulness: how it helps cancer patients

The philosophy of Mindfulness is proving to be able to cope psychologically.

When diagnosed with cancer, many different feelings arise, such as sadness, fear, anger, helplessness, or injustice. When the suffering of this disease is known, most people are accompanied by their family, friends and closest people, either sooner or later.

However, do they really show what they feel when they talk to them, and do they let themselves be overcome by emotion when it comes knocking at their door? The answer in most cases is 'no'.

While it is true that in some people they let their emotions flow, whether they are sadness, anger or injustice, in most cases people make futile efforts to appear good to others. In fact, on many occasions they may experience what is known as Experiential Avoidance Disorder, manifested by the avoidance of everything related to the disease.manifested by the avoidance of everything related to the disease. This avoidance reflects a lack of acceptance of the disease.

All these efforts to put aside the discomfort are in vain, the person ends up in a spiral of thoughts that are dodged with daily activities and that, beyond promoting a high mood, the intensity of the discomfort increases. In this way, both the well-being and the quality of life of the person are harmed.

What is Mindfulness and how does it help Cancer patients?

Psychology works on these aspects through different techniques and therapies. In recent years, Mindfulness has proven to be effective in the work of some relevant problems during cancer:

• Facilitates pain modulation
• Improves sleep quality
• Reduces stress and anxiety
• Improves personal satisfaction
• Improves quality of life

Mindfulness is a practice that comes from Tibetan Buddhist meditation and, at present, is framed within the Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. Its objective is to be aware of every physical and psychological sensation that our body sends us. However, the purpose of Mindfulness is not to eliminate pain or thoughts or emotions that create discomfort, but to hear what they have to say without judging them, giving them the attention they need.

This is because our body is constantly talking to us, every pain, thought, emotion or pain we have is a message from our body. When day after day we insist on not listening to it, our body is stalking us when we least expect it and with greater intensity, because we are not listening to what it has to tell us. Mindfulness facilitates the acceptance, understanding and regulation of these emotions, thoughts or physical sensations.

Basic pillars of this therapeutic philosophy

There are several types of Mindfulness and a multitude of activities to put mindfulness into practice, but it should be taken into account that the most important thing is the attitude that is taken when performing these exercises..

Shapiro and Carlson pointed out seven factors to take into account for the practice:

• Non-judgmentTo become aware of all experiences, both internal and external, without limiting them.
• Being patientBeing open to discover what our body has to show us without pressuring it.
• To have confidenceTo trust the information given to us by our senses without the intention of harming ourselves.
• Not to fightDo not try to avoid emotions, thoughts or physical sensations.
• Letting goAll thoughts and emotions come and go. Sometimes we have the need to remain in a state of well-being. However, Mindfulness aims to pay attention to each moment, being fully aware of what is happening, as well as the changes that occur.
• Beginner's mindsetIf we want to properly perform Mindfulness exercises, we must place ourselves in an inexperienced position, similar to that of a baby. Babies discover their world little by little, they look at it and listen attentively, feel it, suck it and even smell it. Mindfulness aims to place you in a similar position, where your inexperience allows you to perceive each experience with all your senses before categorizing it.

Bibliographical references:

• Collete, N. (2011). Art Therapy and Cancer. Psycho-oncology,8(1), 81-99.
• Hart, S.L., Hoyt, M.A., Diefenbach, M., Anderson, D.R., Kilbourn, K.M., Craft, L.L., ..., & Stanton, A.L. (2012). Meta-analysis of efficacy of interventions for elevated depressive 36
• symptoms in adults diagnosed with cancer. Journal of the National Cancer Institute, 104(13), 990-1004.
• Hopko, D.R., Clark, C.G., Cannity, K., y Bell, J.L. (2015). Pretreatment Depression Severity in Breast Cancer Patients and Its Relation to Treatment Response to Behavior Therapy. Health Psychology.35(1), 10-18.
• Kabat-Zinn, J. (2003). Mindfulness based interventions in context: past, present and future. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice, 10, 144-156.
• Shapiro, S. L., Bootzin, R. R., Figuerdo, A. J., Lopez, A. M. y Schwartz, G. E. (2003). The efficacy of mindfulness-based stress reduction in the treatment of sleep disturbance in women with breast cancer: an exploratory study. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 54(1), 85-91.
• Shapiro, S. L., y Carlson, L. E. (2009). The art of science of Mindfulness. Washington D.C: American Psychological Association.