Cancer and trauma are life-changing experiences that can bring a lot of pain, fear, and uncertainty. They can also challenge your sense of identity, purpose, and meaning. However, they can also offer you an opportunity to discover and appreciate the goodness in your life. Gratitude and appreciation are positive emotions that can help you cope with the difficulties and changes that cancer or trauma brings. They can also enhance your well-being, resilience, and happiness.
But how do you acknowledge your gratitude and appreciation while dealing with cancer or trauma? How do you find and express them in a healthy and meaningful way? How do you balance them with the negative emotions that may still linger? In this blog post, we will explore some tips and strategies to help you acknowledge your gratitude and appreciation while dealing with cancer or trauma.
What are gratitude and appreciation and why are they important for healing?
Gratitude and appreciation are feelings of thankfulness and recognition for the good things in your life. They can be directed toward yourself, others, or a higher power. They can also be expressed for the past, present, or future. For example, you can be grateful for your recovery, appreciate your support system, or look forward to your goals.
Gratitude and appreciation are important for healing because they can help you:
- Gain perspective and see the bigger picture of your situation
- Focus on the positive aspects of your life and not take them for granted
- Reduce stress and anxiety by lowering your blood pressure, improving your immunity, and releasing endorphins
- Increase your self-esteem and confidence by acknowledging your strengths and achievements
- Strengthen your relationships and connections by expressing your gratitude and appreciation to others
- Find meaning and purpose in your life by aligning your values and actions
- Enhance your happiness and satisfaction by savoring and celebrating your life
How to acknowledge and express your gratitude and appreciation in a healthy and meaningful way
Acknowledging and expressing your gratitude and appreciation can be challenging, especially when you are dealing with cancer or trauma. You may feel guilty, ashamed, or unworthy of feeling grateful or appreciative. You may also feel conflicted, confused, or overwhelmed by your emotions. However, acknowledging and expressing your gratitude and appreciation can be beneficial for your healing, as long as you do it in a healthy and meaningful way. Here are some tips and strategies to help you:
- Be honest and authentic. Don’t force yourself to feel grateful or appreciative for things that you don’t value or care about. Be true to yourself and your feelings. Don’t deny or suppress your negative emotions, but don’t let them overshadow your positive ones either. Find a balance between realism and optimism.
- Be specific and concrete. Don’t be vague or general about what you are grateful or appreciative for. Be clear and detailed about the who, what, when, where, why, and how of your gratitude and appreciation. For example, instead of saying “I am grateful for my health”, you can say “I am grateful that I finished my chemotherapy and that my test results are good”.
- Be mindful and present. Don’t dwell on the past or worry about the future. Focus on the present moment and the gifts that it offers. Notice the beauty and joy in the small things, such as a sunrise, a smile, or a hug. Practice mindfulness meditation, yoga, or breathing exercises to help you stay in the present and cultivate gratitude and appreciation.
- Be creative and expressive. Don’t limit yourself to one way of acknowledging and expressing your gratitude and appreciation. Explore different methods and mediums that suit your personality and preferences. You can write them down in a journal, share them with others, say them out loud to yourself or a higher power, draw them, sing them, or dance them. The more you acknowledge and express your gratitude and appreciation, the more you will feel them.
How to overcome the common obstacles and barriers to gratitude and appreciation
Acknowledging and expressing your gratitude and appreciation can be difficult, especially when you are facing cancer or trauma. You may encounter some obstacles and barriers that prevent you from feeling and showing your gratitude and appreciation. Here are some common ones and how to overcome them:
- Comparison. You may compare yourself to others who have it better or worse than you. You may feel envious or guilty of their situation. You may also compare yourself to your previous self, before cancer or trauma. You may feel nostalgic or regretful of your past. To overcome comparison, you need to accept yourself and your situation as they are. You need to recognize that everyone has their challenges and blessings and that you can’t control or change them. You need to focus on your journey and progress, and not on others.
- Expectation. You may expect yourself or others to be grateful or appreciative for certain things. You may feel disappointed or resentful when your expectations are not met. You may also feel pressured or obligated to be grateful or appreciative for things that you don’t want or need. To overcome expectations, you need to let go of your assumptions and judgments. You need to respect yourself and others’ choices and feelings. You need to be grateful or appreciative for things that matter to you, and not for things that others think you should be grateful or appreciative for.
- Entitlement. You may take things for granted and feel entitled to them. You may feel that you deserve or have earned certain things, and that you don’t need to be grateful or appreciative for them. You may also feel that others owe you something and that you don’t need to thank or appreciate them. To overcome entitlement, you need to appreciate the value and rarity of things. You need to recognize that nothing is guaranteed or permanent and that everything can change or be lost. You need to acknowledge the effort and contribution of yourself and others, and that nothing is given or received without a reason or a cost.
Conclusion
Acknowledging and expressing your gratitude and appreciation while dealing with cancer or trauma can be challenging, but also rewarding. They can help you cope with the difficulties and changes that cancer or trauma brings and also enhance your well-being, resilience, and happiness. By following the tips and strategies in this blog post, you can acknowledge and express your gratitude and appreciation in a healthy and meaningful way, and overcome the common obstacles and barriers to them. Remember, gratitude and appreciation are not just feelings, but also actions. The more you practice them, the more you will benefit from them.
My name is Cielo, the author of “The Cancer Voice Asia”, a blog that aims to support and inspire anyone who is facing cancer. I know how it feels to be diagnosed with a rare and aggressive type of cancer, Leiomyosarcoma, at the age of 29. I know the challenges, the fears, the hopes, and the joys of living with cancer. I want to share my story with you and connect you with others who understand what you are going through. Together, we can empower ourselves and fight against the disease. Join me on this platform and let’s make our healing journey a meaningful one.
