Excuse Me, I May Throw Up From Stress: Ways To Cope

Sometimes worry is good. It keeps us alert and safe. Other times, we kick into worry overdrive and it is helpful to create a tool bag of ways to calm ourselves.

BY Barbara Tako

PUBLISHED April 10, 2018

Barbara Tako is a breast cancer survivor (2010), melanoma survivor (2014) and author of Cancer Survivorship Coping Tools–We'll Get You Through This. She is a cancer coping advocate, speaker and published writer for television, radio and other venues across the country. She lives, survives, and thrives in Minnesota with her husband, children and dog. See more at www.cancersurvivorshipcopingtools.com or www.clutterclearingchoices.com.

One of my daughters is a musician who has performed in front of thousands. Long ago, her piano teacher wisely told her what to expect: “Expect your body to betray you every way that it can.” It could be nausea or diarrhea, a headache, stiff neck, trembling, all of the above or other things. Everyone carries tension and stress in their bodies a little bit differently. Once we acknowledge and expect this to happen as we face unknowns as cancer survivors, I think it becomes easier to manage.
 
Recognizing and accepting that our body may manifest our poor upset feelings is actually the first step to manage and cope with those feelings. It is not something to be freaked out by. It is not something to feel betrayed by. Adrenaline. It is how we are wired for survival. Sometimes I mentally say to my body, “OK, so that is how we are going to play it, eh?” Sometimes when I lean into those feelings a little, my body sometimes backs off—at least a little.
 

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