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After the diagnosis of prostate cancer and regularly through treatment and surveillance men who have been diagnosed with the condition should be screened for distress and their psychological and quality of life concerns should be explored.
Men who have high levels of distress should be further evaluated for anxiety and/or depression and evidence of suicidality.
There are a number of ways in which people who have been diagnosed of prostate cancer can manage their emotions and feelings of hopelessness.
People who feel hopeless, experience a lack of optimism and motivation.
They experience a lack of interest and have negative thoughts about the future, future improvements, or a negative view of themselves.
Feelings of hopelessness can often lead an individual to lose interest in important objects, activities, events, or people.
Someone who has become hopeless may no longer value things that were once important.
The emotion is often associated with the following; a lack of inspiration, feelings of powerlessness, helplessness, abandonment, captivity, oppression and isolation.
These feelings may become worse depending on a person’s mood, coping strategy and resilience.
It may not come to you as a surprise that hopelessness is closely linked to poor mental, emotional and physical health.
Often hopelessness can have a significant influence on people’s behaviour, as it may reflect an individual’s negative view of their future.
If one views their present and future circumstances as negative, this individual will often believe that their situation will never improve. People affected by this often view their situation in a polarised way.
When an individual starts to see the future in this negative way, it usually comes in the form of thoughts like; “there is no point”, “nothing I do is making a difference”, “I have no hope” ,”I will never feel better” and “no one can help me”.
These negative expectations can lead us to see no point in trying to improve our circumstances and lead us to avoid activities and our friends.
This means that hopelessness is expressed in one’s thinking, emotions and behaviour, implicating a vicious cycle.
Hopelessness can lead an individual having a low mood and even thoughts of suicide or suicidal behaviour.
Generally, with activation of internal and external resilience and resources, this type of hopelessness may resolve or recede over time.
Being hopeless is something we may also learn.
Roots of hopelessness can lie in personal experiences or attitudes.
The process of learning hopelessness rests upon rigid thoughts, feelings and actions, that lead to despair.
But no matter the cause, feelings of hopelessness can be devastating.
Not only does it compromise an individual’s sense of well-being and stability, it may also rob a person of the motivation required to utilise available resources or to reach out for support.
Managing Low Mood and Feeling of Hopelessness
Three Steps for building hope:
The first is a process of “future-casting” — envisioning a specific future goal in a way that makes it come alive.
For example, you may want to live a life that is healthy and can give you the best life-satisfaction while coping with your condition.
The next step is to work towards your goal.
Set yourself realistic goals that are manageable and sustainable.
Look at things that are hindering you from achieving this and find strategies that help you to do it, for example learning cognitive behavioural therapy, having a regular exercise routine etc.
The final step is planning for contingencies.
Most hopeful people tend to see multiple solutions to a problem, while the hopeless either do not have a solution at all or only one for the best-case scenario and come up with just one or two pathways to their target.
So try to come up with many ways to overcome these obstacles and do not be afraid to change them during the pathway. Sometimes things do not go as planned so try not to ruminate about things that went wrong or may not work but try to see them as a learning opportunity which will help you to find a better solution.
If the situation is truly unchangeable, is there a way to change the goal?
You cannot avoid a diagnosis of an illness so your goal becomes to make your life as enjoyable and meaningful for you as possible.
Your goal becomes to change your perception, your routines and/or your friendships so you can meet more of your needs.
If you cannot change a life-altering diagnosis, your goal becomes to face it with dignity, self-compassion and strength.
Continuous low mood or sadness, irritability, anger, feeling of emptiness, loss of pleasure in things you usually enjoy, low self-esteem and guilt.
Poor concentration, a lack of energy, sleeping more or less than usual.
Avoiding contact with friends, taking part in fewer social activities and neglecting activities you usually enjoy doing.
Depression affects one in five people.
It is normal to feel low, sad or miserable at times and usually these feelings pass in due course.
If these feelings are interfering with your life and do not go away after a couple of weeks, or if they come back over and over again for a few days at a time, it could be a sign that you are experiencing depression.
Different symptoms which can be psychological, physiological and social in nature include:
Each person’s experience of depression is different and lies on a continuum — a continuous line from not at all depressed to very depressed, and it can change continuously.
What is anxiety?
Anxiety disorders are the most frequent mental health conditions worldwide.
One in three people are affected at some point in their life.
Anxiety is a natural response to perceived threat or uncertainty.
It is a common experience in our lives.
We experience anxiety if our normal stress reaction is excessive.
Symptoms may lead to an anxiety disorder if they are severe, last for a long time, out of proportion and cause extreme behaviour (avoidance) to reduce anxiety.
Characterised by excessive fear and worry, distress and/or major problems such as being able to function effectively at work, at home, or in life in general.
Anxiety affects our minds, bodies and our actions:
Body reactions include; shallow breathing, racing pulse, sweating, pins and needles in our arms and legs, chills down the spine, and a churning sensation in our stomachs.
The mind component includes excessive worry and thinking of the worst possible scenarios as absolutes, not just possibilities.
Anxiety can produce feelings of fear, dread, unease, panic, and lead to loss of sleep.
Prevention and Self-Management techniques
Regular exercise, a balanced diet, regular eight hours of sleep, and cutting down on cigarettes and alcohol can all have a cumulative effect on reducing anxiety and depression.
Mindfulness exercises can help to improve attention control and decrease rumination or anxiety-inducing thoughts.
Share your feelings with someone you trust (family, friend, or online peer support).
If your symptoms persist, cause you distress or impact your daily life, we recommend seeking support from your general practitioner, employee assistance programme or other professional support.
Seek immediate support if you have suicidal thoughts or intentions. — Prostate cancer UK; support pack 1/The Herald
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