Cancer gone but left with anxiety.

Butterflygirl2,

Welcome to Breastcancer.org, and thank you for posting! This type of emotional effect after a breast cancer diagnosis is extremely normal -- many women even experience post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), which can be crippling. You're sure to find a great network of support here, as there are many others who have similar experiences!

While you wait for the ever-helpful insight from our incredible community, you may want to check out the main Breastcancer.org site's pages on Anxiety and Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) for tips to help manage these effects.

We hope this helps and that we hear more from you soon. We're all here for you!

--The Mods

I understand where you are, trust me, and it is scary. I pray that the positive changes your made to your diet and exercise combined with the medication and a therapist will kick in soon. From what I hear, it takes a good 6 weeks for the medication to fully kick in. Keep talking to your therapist and us here, If the meds are working, switch to something else.

I am done with active treatment and will be (hopefully) 3 years out from diagnosis this July. In no way am I the same person I was before I had cancer. In some ways, I am better and in some ways worse. I am much more likely to let things go than fight about anything. My nerves just can't take it. I am more likely to advocate for myself personally and medically, but I pick my battles personally. I don't worry about things like I used to, I just don't want to. Things are going to happen to me both good and bad, and I have to choose how I react to them.

Most of the time, I am very anxious and jittery inside, but I deal with it by myself. I don't talk with people as much as I used to because quite frankly, they don't really care all that much. When someone asks "how are you?", they are basically just asking out of politeness. They don't really want to know how I'm doing inside so I just say good and move on. There are probably two people I really share with and that is good enough.

I read an article recently about breast cancer survivors ad PTSD. Do a google search and you may find it.

I wish you nothing but the best and hope that your world will soon be happy again!

pupmom, it makes perfect sense, no disconnect needed. Anxiety is not rational, it cannot be explained away with evidence. Anxiety can start with a real (or perceived) event and then become a biological phenomenon that moves beyond that event. The physiology of anxiety can be extraordinarily powerful.

Butterflygirl, I agree with Mandy that it takes a bit of time. You seem to be doing all the right things to help yourself - eating healthy, exercise, medication, seeing a therapist - and those changes all take some time to be truly beneficial. I know that a faster resolution would be great, but changing your body's responses takes time. As both a cancer survivor and therapist, I would also encourage you to try some additional things (if you aren't already) like: using a warm bath or massage to help relax your muscles, listening to soothing music, use aromatherapy (candles or essential oils using lavender etc), going for a walk (to use up some of the excess energy anxiety produces), yoga and/or trying chamomile tea to help you relax. All of these things may help you feel less anxious as you continue to work with your therapist. It does get better. Sending you healing light and hugs.

I understand how CBT works, pupmom, but that takes time and she is reporting having pretty extreme anxiety right now. She also says that she is currently seeing a therapist, so they're working on it.