Balancing the Scale: Guest Blogger- Melanie Bowen

I received a blog inquiry with this beautiful email a month or so ago and finally with life slowing down a little am getting around to posting it.

Most people do not put their thoughts on paper—consequently leaving them without tangible reminders and constant ambition. I’m sure you can imagine how important this idea could be for those going through health struggles regardless of what they may be. An individual going through treatment, in remission, and even the family members of those with chronic or terminal illnesses face everyday challenges of maintaining a quality of life—self-motivation and inspiration is the key!

I’ve recently been invited to be a contributor on the Mesothelioma Cancer Alliance blog and have the ability to reach a wider audience. Awareness is an important factor when it comes to health and healing, so please let me know if you would be interested in allowing me to contribute a small guest post on your blog or if you would consider putting a link to my MCA blog on your site as a resource for your readers. I am eager to build up this concept of encouragement without intruding in on your own personal goals and accomplishments.

Here is her posting:

Making Goals Helps to Achieve Them

Many people that are diagnosed with cancer, including rare forms such as mesothelioma are subject to thinking about their prognosis on a regular basis. They feel sick; not because their cancer is directly making them sick but because they are dealing with something they never thought would happen to them. Being diagnosed with cancer brings about an array of feelings and emotions that can be difficult to digest, which can make a person feel sick. These emotions are strong and come on fast; there is no point where they begin to develop. They are fast and furious and can make a person feel out of control of their lives; something cancer has a way of doing to people.

Feeling Better

Doctors are now encouraging their cancer patients to keep a journal, diary or blog. By writing down their emotions and feelings, people tend to feel better physically. Many people feel these strong emotions that they have no control over and begin to feel overwhelmed and out of control; these emotions are difficult to deal with and people often become upset over them. Journaling is a great way for those people to deal with their emotions almost immediately. Putting pen to paper and letting those emotions out onto the paper in words is a tangible reminder that there is a way to deal with anything that life throws at a person. It has been proven that this is an effective way of making people feel better in the physical sense.

Goal Making

Additionally, doctors feel that it is important for patients to make a list of their goals that have nothing to do with their cancer. These goals will serve as a tangible reminder that once they have dealt with their cancer they will be able to get started on the things they’ve listed. These can be big goals or little ones. Cancer patients can make it a goal to learn to dance so that when their children marry they can dance with them at their wedding or they can make it a goal to learn another language so they can visit that country for an extended period of time. Whatever a person wants to make a goal in their life, there is no better way to achieve that goal than to write it down and look at it daily to remind themselves that this will happen for them.

Journaling is a great source of therapy for those that have cancer. It is an unbiased, non-judgmental place where they can write down their feelings without fear of judgment or inappropriateness. A journal is a valuable item that anyone can have and everyone should take advantage of. It’s much cheaper than therapy, after all.