“This study is a reminder to step back and look at what your partner is coping with, to learn about their health conditions, to be conscious of it on a daily basis, and for grown children and clinicians to do the same,” she says. “Having that awareness, and helping one another manage health problems while watching for signs of depression, may help both members of a couple over time.”
Grief Support
Grief is often painful, but for some people, the emotions can become overwhelming. When a person’s grief is severe and unrelenting, Dr. Holland can offer support. In time, a person can recover from their loss and adjust to a new life.
Art therapy can be beneficial for stressed caregivers of cancer patients
Creative activities like art-making are mindful practices, allowing patients and caregivers to stay in the moment, which by definition can free them from the stress that cancer brings. Caregivers experience stress, which can affect their own health and the patient’s outcome. A recent study showed coloring and open-studio art therapy benefits stressed caregivers of cancer patients.
Companion Pets Help to Ease Symptoms of Grief
Researchers found all individuals who lost their spouse experienced higher levels of depression. However, people without a pet experienced more significant increases in depressive symptoms and higher loneliness than those who had pets. In fact, those who had a pet and experienced the death or divorce of their spouse were no lonelier than older adults who didn’t experience one of those events.
Controlling sad thoughts not a help for grief process
People who are grieving a major loss, such as the death of a spouse or a child, use different coping mechanisms to carry on with their lives. Psychologists have been able to track different approaches, which can reflect different clinical outcomes. One approach that is not usually successful is avoidant grief, a state in which people suffering from grief show marked, effortful, repeated, and often unsuccessful attempts to stop themselves from thinking about their loss. While researchers have shown that avoidant grievers consciously monitor their external environment in order to avoid reminders of their loss, no one has yet been able to show whether these grievers also monitor their mental state unconsciously, trying to block any thoughts of loss from rising to their conscious state.
Support for Cancer Patients
During times of uncertainty when facing an unknown future, anxiety and stress can result in emotional upheaval that can make it difficult to function. Dr. Holland’s practice is process and solution-focused with outcomes aimed at symptom reduction and increased joy. She uses a combination of therapeutic approaches and techniques to help patients successfully make the changes they most want to see in themselves.
