Breast cancer treatment can cause significant issues with body image because the disease's physical and psychological effects frequently have a lasting effect on how one perceives oneself. It takes a highly personal journey to adjust to these changes, and for emotional health and general quality of life, it is imperative to recognize and address body image issues. Following breast cancer, these seven suggestions can assist people in adopting a more positive body image.
Acknowledge the Commonality of Body Image Issues
It is important to realise that many people who have received treatment for breast cancer experience similar difficulties with body image. It's normal to feel uneasy or self-conscious about scars, breast loss, changes in weight, or other changes. Give yourself permission to face these issues head-on without feeling guilty or suppressed.
Recognise How Body Image Affects Mental Health
Relationships, self-confidence, and mental health can all be significantly impacted by persistent negative thoughts about your appearance. Reluctantly engaging in once-enjoyed hobbies or withdrawing from social situations may indicate that your quality of life is being negatively impacted by body image issues. For overall well-being, getting help to tackle these anxieties and uncertainties is crucial.
Seek Professional Help
Speaking with a mental health specialist who specialises in body image following cancer can be very beneficial. Therapists can help people accept their bodies as they are right now and help them replace negative thoughts with neutral or positive ones.
Meeting people with comparable experiences can be facilitated through online and in-person peer-to-peer mentoring programs and support groups.
Talk to Your Partner
It is important to discuss your body image issues honestly if you're in a relationship. It's possible for there to be shifts in the level of physical or emotional intimacy, but ignoring your partner might make things worse. Your relationship can be strengthened by talking about your feelings and cooperating to reestablish closeness, perhaps with the assistance of a couple’s therapist.
Engage in Body-Positive Activities
It can be transforming to find hobbies that build positive connections with your body. Appreciating your body's resilience can be cultivated by focusing on how it feels instead of how it appears, whether you're walking, doing yoga, dancing, or getting a massage.
Celebrate and acknowledge the fortitude your body has displayed during cancer therapy.
Challenge External Beauty Standards
A vital initial step on the path to self-acceptance is challenging society's definition of beauty. Ads, the media, and social forces all frequently propagate limited conceptions of beauty. It's powerful to let go of unattainable ideals that fuel self-defeating thoughts about how you look. Accept your individual attractiveness and reinterpret what it means to be self-assured and at ease in your own flesh.
Accept Change and Reevaluate Your Priorities
Receiving a breast cancer diagnosis and going through treatment may cause one to reevaluate one's priorities. Take advantage of this chance for personal development and rethink how you relate to your body. After overcoming cancer, some people have a renewed sense of peace with their body image, particularly when they actively interact and interact with their bodies.
Dr. Pragati Singhal
