Content Overview 
- Summary
- Revise holiday activities to fit your current physical and emotional condition and to include people you care about. Don't over extend yourself..
- Look at past holiday stressors to see what has previously helped you cope and move forward.
- If you are in treatment, talk to your doctor about taking time off during the holidays or changing your schedule.
- Keep your expectations realistic.
- Prioritize your activities.
- If you're not physically or emotionally up to going shopping, or you are not allowed in holiday crowds, shop online or from catalogues.
- If a money crunch is causing stress, focus on the real meaning of the holiday. Reign in spending with a budget.
- Live healthy. Don't over indulge. Exercise. Get rest.
- If you are dealing with grief, use the holidays to help finish your grieving.
- Share your feelings. As Art Linkletter said, "Laughter is the best medicine." It's okay to cry.
- Build in alone time
- Practice forgiveness
- If you're lonely... get busy. Consider volunteering.
- Accept what you can't change.
- If you make resolutions, keep them doable.
- Practice coping mechanisms, including renewing spirituality.
- If seasonal decrease in sunlight causes you to suffer from Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD), get treatment.
- If you are going to travel, talk with your doctor about any special travel needs. Prepare.
- Use the holiday as a time to share memories and to make new ones.
- If none of the above work for you, call your doctor or other medical practitioner.
How To Cope With Holiday Stress & Depression & Colorectal Cancer
Share your feelings. As Art Linkletter said, "Laughter is the best medicine." It's okay to cry.
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Share your feelings with friends and family, just as you do concerns about your health. Keeping negative feelings to yourself is not healthy. Being open about your cancer can help put family and friends at ease. Discussing disease and treatment matter-of-factly will help them respond to you. They will follow your lead and respond without awkwardness. (You may want to decide ahead of time just how much you’re comfortable sharing.)
Permit yourself to express your sadness and frustration. Don’t allow negative feelings to fester. You may think about your days before cancer and how your life has changed. If your cancer is advanced, it’s natural to wonder how many more holidays you have left to enjoy with your family. These feelings are very real - talk about them with your loved ones. It allows them to talk about it, too.
Share the low times AND the high times. Tears can be a big relief and very healing; laughter can be very relaxing. In fact, Laughter Therapy has become popular and is based on research findings that laughter can help reduce pain and boost the immune system to aid in the healing process, as well as being a natural gift to help deal with emotional stress. (For tips about bringing humor and laughter into your life, click here.)
Consider joining a support group, even if it’s only to get you through the holidays. You can participate in a support group at your treatment center or through a disease specific non-profit organization, or from the comfort of your home via the internet or on the phone. For information about support groups in general, click here. To locate a colorectal cancer support group, click here.
A ” Buddy Program” is a great way to get one-to-one peer support from someone who can truly relate. You can connect with your Buddy from home over the telephone or internet. For information about cancer buddies, click here. To locate a buddy, see the following:
- Colon Cancer Alliance at www.ccalliance.org
, or call 877.422.2030 - Your oncologist or his or her office staff.
- An oncology social worker.
- Cancer Hope Network connects people with volunteers who have been through similar experiences. www.CancerHopeNetwork.org
- ImermanAngels.org, a non-profit organization, makes a connection with volunteer cancer survivors and caregivers who are trained as “Mentor angels” www.imermanangels.org/give-cancer-support.php , Tel.: 312.274.5529
Young men and women: Consider checking out organizations devoted to young people with cancer. For instance:
- I'm Too Young For This! Cancer Foundation, see: www.I2y.org
- Planet Cancer, see: www.PlanetCancer.org
- The Ulman Cancer Fund For Young Adults, see: www.UlmanFund.org
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Colorectal Cancer Support Groups
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