Anxiety waiting for results
How do you deal with "the waiting game?" Sometimes we have to wait a week or more to get the results we're anxious to receive. What have you found helps you cope with this waiting period?
To the extent possible, I do well when I am distracted. Busy at work? Fabulous! When my mind is busy on work, it is less likely to wander into the personal realm. Does the house need to be cleaned top to bottom? That works too! The busier the better. Mental or physical busy is good for me. I tend to worry like Scott. My mind goes in all kinds of directions. I gave started meditation and that has helped.
I love meditation! I used to go once a week until the pandemic cancelled the class. It works for sure. me too ... and then it’s nice if you get the all clear and can breathe! With you on the meditation and I’m trying to get better at managing the nagging worry. Xxx
keep yourself involved in life, take anxiety meds when needed, rest, and prayers I love the advice of keeping yourself involved in life. It can be so easy to isolate when dealing with anxiety, but continuing to go through and enjoy life can really make a difference. Thank you for sharing! -Alexa (SkinCancer.net moderator)
I try to keep myself distracted which helps a lot . I suffer greatly anyway from severe anxiety but I force myself to look at it like this: You’ve noticed the lesion far earlier than anyone who hasn’t yet had a skin cancer diagnosis. Your mind is always on high alert for any changes. So you will have a much much better prognosis whatever turns up in a biopsy . We have all seen people walking around with suspicious lesions on their faces or body, who may only discover its skin cancer when they are told they have to have radical debilitating treatment. You’ll never get to that stage Scott, because whatever you discover will be treated far more quickly than someone who’s unaware. It’s extremely hard and nerve wracking to wait, but you’ll get there ok!
This is a really great outlook to have. I recently heard someone say, "you can't control your first thought, but you can control your second." This gives us the power to reframe any negative or anxious thoughts we have and change the narrative in our heads. I think it's awesome to remind yourself of the fact that you caught the lesion and are taking care of it as soon as possible. Thank you for sharing this with us! -Alexa (SkinCancer.net moderator)
