Positivity

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You’re listening to the Cornwall Cancer Cafe podcast with me, Matthew, and with me, Emma.

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Thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund for supporting this podcast.

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So this week we are talking about a topic I find fairly challenging, but you’d have thought

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that it’s something that we should have just been going forward. Emma, help me with this.

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We’re gay abandon.

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I’m gay abandon. Yes, well, there you go.

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Positivity, positiveness.

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Positivity is a challenge sometimes. You think it’s just about saying,

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yes, I’m going for it, yay, and everyone high fives and that’s all you need to do,

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but it’s not, is it?

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It’s not. No, sometimes it takes an awful lot of work, doesn’t it?

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It does. So I’ve been thinking about this and asking a few friends about this,

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and we’ve already heard in our series from Rob Stott not so long ago,

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and I asked him what he had to say about this. Have a listen to this.

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It’s the most important thing, it’s positivity. Even when you feel like shite,

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it’s positivity. You can’t allow yourself any negative thoughts to get you into that horrible

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black hole because you’ll be bad.

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That’s what he said there, and I thought, OK, I need a bit more from him on this

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because he is a very positive person, I think a natural positive person,

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from what I can get.

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But also not everybody finds positivity easy,

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and some people aren’t naturally positive, so let’s, yeah.

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Let’s find out a bit more from him.

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OK, positivity, probably one of the hardest things to do when you’re

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in the midst of going through chemo or just actually being told that you’ve got cancer.

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Personally, I try to refuse to let any sort of negative thought come into my head,

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mainly because a negative thought is worse compared to a good thought.

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So I found myself watching Douglas Bader reach for the skies three or four times.

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Two o’clock in the morning watching Eddie Murphy doing stand up and various other stand ups

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that I could find, just something to switch the depression and the gloom and the darkness

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that you can find yourself getting into with chemotherapy.

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So try and just find anything that gives you the slightest hint of enjoyment or a feel good

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factor. Trying to be happy on chemo kind of seems a bit of a double negative because you

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can’t be happy sometimes when you’re having chemo, but you’ve really got to try.

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So just watch things that make you laugh. If there’s videos, there’s comedy sketches,

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anything that will make you smile or laugh or get you out of that dark place just to switch

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you into a mode that’s a little bit more happy.

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Well, you see, the thing is, is that actually he is admitting there he does get

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those dark spells and that depression. And he’s had to work at lifting his moods.

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That’s what he’s been saying there.

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Yeah. And that’s obviously the way he does it by watching stand up and listening to funny

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things. Watching reach for the sky with Douglas Bader.

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Yeah. I don’t know what that’s all about, but I mean, different people find happiness

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and brightness in different areas. You know, me being musical, I’m more likely to listen to

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uplifting. You know, I might dive into my classical music collection and listen to

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something that’s really uplifting. Whereas that might absolutely depress somebody else.

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So it’s finding your happy space, isn’t it? And and abusing it.

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Well, the thing is, is I remember when I was at my worst point through all the treatments

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that I sat on the sofa with mother watching endless Andre Rue concerts.

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Oh, well, there you go. So, yeah, you were, you were.

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And I actually, because I had lots of steroids and stuff, I actually was weeping over some

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of these concerts.

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Oh bless. And I mean, the other thing is when you’re feeling absolutely dreadful,

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you need to find easy things to do, don’t you? And also things that it’s easy to press

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the pause button on in case you need to go and throw up or something.

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Oh, yeah. Well, you know, you can have next to your seat where you’re watching

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Andre Rue or whatever, or stand ups, Eddie Murphy, you can have just a bucket.

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Well, I did. I did. I made sure I had a bucket.

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Anyway, so I’ve been poking around online to find some more advice.

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Actually, I found a really nice piece produced by a counselling service in Singapore,

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sunny Singapore, sunny Singapore, and this service called Can Hope.

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And have a listen to this managing negative thoughts.

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Receiving a cancer diagnosis and undergoing treatment can be major life stresses.

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You may find yourself replaying distressing thoughts in your mind about the past

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or the unknown future. Sometimes you are able to ignore these thoughts with distractions.

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However, there are also times when the negative thoughts persist

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and may cause feelings of helplessness, self-loathing or anger.

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These thoughts, if perpetuated, may even lead to clinical depression.

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Here are some strategies to manage repetitive negative thoughts.

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Identify the source of the negative thoughts.

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We can start by identifying the source of negative thoughts.

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This will enhance our self-awareness,

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and through that we may find clarity and peace within us.

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Speaking to a counsellor is very much encouraged to facilitate this process of self-discovery

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and transforming self-defeating thoughts to life-affirming ones.

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Count your blessings.

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Set apart time daily to count your blessings, no matter how small they are.

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This simple exercise will help you expand your mind and shift your negative perspective.

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Engage in positive self-talk.

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Replace negative thoughts with positive self-talk.

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This could be an empowering statement, mantra or prayer.

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Repeat this to yourself while consciously breathing in with each word

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and exhaling your anxieties.

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Be inspired by cancer survivors.

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Draw strength from inspirational stories of cancer survivors

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who have emerged more resilient and positive.

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Allow these stories to spur you on during your most challenging moments.

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Remind yourself continually that you can survive and thrive.

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Stay in the present moment.

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Stay in the present moment and live your life fully.

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Practice being aware and mindful of your thoughts,

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feelings and experiences through deep breathing and meditation.

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This helps you to embrace your experience,

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become more resilient and less reactive.

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Let go of what you can’t control.

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Identify what you can change

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and let go of everything that is not within your control.

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Worrying may lead to an increase in stress hormones that may impede your recovery.

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Schedule 20 to 30 minutes a day to indulge in your worries

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and free yourself from anxious ruminations at other times.

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For matters within your control,

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write a list of goals and steps to fulfill them.

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View mistakes as learning opportunities.

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The pathway to success is paved with numerous failures.

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Instead of reacting to mistakes with regret or anger,

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perceive them as lessons that will teach you to do things differently and better.

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Reach out to someone you know who is suffering.

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When you feel emotionally ready,

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share your stories with fellow cancer warriors to encourage them.

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You may grow in compassion towards self and others

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when you acknowledge the pain and anxieties of another.

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Seek professional help when you need to.

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Last but not least, it is alright to seek help.

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If you are feeling overwhelmed, such that it affects your daily routines,

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consider speaking to a mental health professional such as a counselor.

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Remember that you’re not in this alone.

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Reach out for help and surround yourself with the right knowledge and support.

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Right, what do you make of that?

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Well, okay, so I felt it was a little patronizing to begin with

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and the music got on my nerves a bit.

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So let’s start with the negatives on that, but it got better.

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The more I, the more she talked, the more I thought, yes, yes, okay, yes.

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I mean, the first thing, you know, identify what it is that’s making you worry.

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But you know, you know, at the end, you know,

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sort of like acknowledge the fact that you may need professional help.

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This is a huge thing that you’re dealing with.

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You can’t deal with it all on your own.

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And some people, it doesn’t manifest straight away,

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the worry and the feelings of I’m out of control.

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Sometimes these feelings manifest after you’ve finished all of your treatment.

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And then suddenly you think, oh, my goodness,

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I’ve been through this huge experience and I haven’t dealt with it properly.

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But yeah, listening to what she said, yeah, it was a little bit annoying,

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but I mean, these things, you know, especially it’s really good

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to listen to this sort of thing with somebody else,

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because you can just take the mick out of it all the way through,

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but actually take the really good points out of it.

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Yes, I think one of the things I was thinking whilst listening to it is

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I found myself to try and lift myself to do positive things.

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So it’s actually rather than trying to think positively is do positive actions.

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So she was talking about helping other people.

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What I tried to do was I did a few fundraisers

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whilst I had little fundraising projects and I ran a Macmillan coffee morning or two.

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And those sort of positive things helped lift me when I was down in the dumps.

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Yeah, and you’ve also got to remember the old phrase,

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be kind to yourself, you know, be nice to yourself.

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I keep getting told that and I’m not very good.

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You saw me being trying to be kind to myself yesterday at the Cove

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when I bought myself an ice cream.

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Yeah, I got there just a little bit too late, didn’t I?

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I missed out on that one.

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Here to support you, the Cornwall Cancer Cafe podcast.

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Visit our website www.cancercafepodcast.org

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I think going through the trauma of having cancer, going through treatment

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and when I say treatment, you know, it doesn’t have to be chemotherapy, radiotherapy, whatever.

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It could be surgery.

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It could be any type of treatment.

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It doesn’t have to be the, you know, the horror stories

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that we all really hope we never have to deal with.

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There’s lots of different types of treatment,

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but we should also we should acknowledge that

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the fact that you’ve had a cancer diagnosis is traumatic

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and you need to be kind to yourself.

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Right, so we have also been talking to people closer to home than Singapore

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and amongst those was Dr Louise Brown, who is a clinical psychologist

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and she works out of the Cove.

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So let’s have a listen to a bit of an interview which I did with her.

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In our service here, we have the message right from

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we have a newly diagnosed online group that we run from the Cove online once a month

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and it’s our very first bit of information that we put out there

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about emotions, dealing with emotions, the fact that emotions are normal.

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We’ve all got them.

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They haven’t died out through our evolution and how they can help us.

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But also that just being positive, often we as human beings,

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we naturally compare ourselves to others because we, you know,

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we need others, don’t we, to survive and, you know,

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babies and young children can’t look after themselves.

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So we attach to our caregivers.

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We need other people around us.

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So it’s really normal that we compare ourselves

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and we have a tendency to compare ourselves negatively.

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When we see others, look at that person on the telly or so-and-so down the road,

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they were always cheerful.

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They never moaned.

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They were always positive.

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And of course, the, you know, the psychological work we do here,

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we do just have to kind of call a spade a spade and allow that person

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to say whatever they need to say.

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Then we find the hope or the positive aspects,

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whatever is again important for that person.

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I found that positive negativity or negative positivity,

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I’m not sure which way to put it yet,

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is I once heard a talk about how negativity was used in a positive way

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in the Apollo moonshot program,

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how engineers had to look for everything that could go wrong

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to make sure things went well.

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And in many ways, through my cancer journey,

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I’ve thought that’s important because if it came down to something

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where I had a symptom or something and I thought,

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oh, no, it’s nothing.

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It’s all going well.

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And I ignored that.

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And it was actually an early sign of relapse or cancer.

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Then that would not be a good thing.

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It’s better to have a positive view,

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but look for the negatives as well so that you can have the best outcome.

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That’s interesting.

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I like that.

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It’s a real balance, isn’t it?

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So again, sometimes when we’re too negative or too positive,

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we’re not looking at the whole picture,

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then we’re at risk of, like you say, missing something or coming crashing down.

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Yeah, the Apollo thing crashing into the moon

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or not being able to come back from Apollo 13.

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Yeah, it’s a risk.

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That’s what we try to help with and be alongside.

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Because again, what we often find in life,

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it’s a bit like with grief sometimes,

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if we don’t feel what we naturally feel,

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the emotions aren’t allowed to come out and just be.

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Our natural inclination as humans is to overthink them

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and kind of try to push them away or not think about them.

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But actually, if we can allow things just to flow and be,

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then it’s information, it’s useful information for us.

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But also, it just means it doesn’t have to come

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kind of knocking at the door again when you’re like,

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oh, I’m getting through this and like,

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oh, why am I now really upset about that?

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We do often support people at the end of treatment

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because obviously we need to get into a certain kind of mode,

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a certain mindset to get through treatment.

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Share this podcast on your social media so others may benefit.

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You were just saying about balance

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at the point where she just mentioned balance.

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Yeah, I did.

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I also wrote down about,

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so she mentioned about comparing ourselves with others

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and I’ve written down the word performance.

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So don’t you think that when you’re trying to

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be super positive and things,

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basically you’re putting on a performance, aren’t you?

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You’re putting on a mask sometimes.

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And that can be very wearing, can’t it?

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Very tiring.

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And we know because we see all these big shot,

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hot shot actors and things and they burn out, don’t they?

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So it’s no wonder that, you know, us as normal human beings…

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With normal emotions, as she was saying.

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Yeah, with normal emotions.

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00:16:55.370 –> 00:16:57.910
It’s no wonder we burn out if we’re putting on a performance.

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Yes.

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00:16:59.350 –> 00:17:04.150
And I think we’re going to talk a bit about toxic positivity in a bit,

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00:17:04.150 –> 00:17:07.430
not quite yet, but she mentioned about how,

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you know, sometimes looking too positively at things

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and I was talking about, you know, Apollo moonshot

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and things like that.

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It can hide what you should be watching for

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and I’m thinking about symptoms, you know, saying,

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oh, it’ll be all right.

260
00:17:24.369 –> 00:17:25.930
Yeah, don’t worry, it’ll be all right.

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00:17:26.270 –> 00:17:28.349
Yeah, yeah, you need to be careful with that, don’t you?

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00:17:28.349 –> 00:17:28.770
Yeah.

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00:17:28.770 –> 00:17:30.330
But it’s the balance, isn’t it?

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Yes.

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00:17:30.550 –> 00:17:30.850
Yeah.

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Yeah.

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So, okay.

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Now, we’ve got a lot of content we recorded the other day

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with David Tucker, who is a consultant hematologist

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at the Royal Coral Hospital

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and there’ll be more from him in upcoming episodes.

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But we did have a chat about the part of positivity

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and how a positive outlook from the patient

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helps the consultant

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and how the consultant helps the patient with all of this

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and how it’s sort of two people working together.

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00:18:11.910 –> 00:18:13.990
Yeah, and he spoke so beautifully about it, didn’t he?

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He’s very passionate about what he does.

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So, it was lovely speaking to him,

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but also learning about the man behind the consultant.

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Yes, and as I say, we’ll have more on that to come,

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but let’s have a listen to him first talking about this positivity

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and the consultant’s role in that.

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I think most hematologists would describe themselves as optimists

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because they are often treating difficult diseases

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and they tend to have a sort of eternal optimism

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that they’re going to make things better.

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But positivity, will it depend?

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00:18:56.010 –> 00:18:58.710
So, it depends on what you’re aiming for

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and this is why we’ll go back to those three kind of questions

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00:19:01.230 –> 00:19:03.050
which we think about in our minds.

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What’s the intended outcome of my treatment?

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Are we looking at cure?

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00:19:10.330 –> 00:19:13.630
Are we looking at control or are we looking at comfort?

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00:19:14.110 –> 00:19:17.330
And so, you can achieve any one of those

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00:19:17.330 –> 00:19:20.250
and still have a positive outlook and a positive mindset

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depending on what you were aiming for in the first place.

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00:19:23.930 –> 00:19:27.050
So, it depends on what you’re trying to achieve,

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I think, as to how positive you can be.

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While you talk about from the point of view

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00:19:32.150 –> 00:19:33.750
of the consultant or the patient there.

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00:19:33.810 –> 00:19:35.150
I think both really.

303
00:19:35.870 –> 00:19:38.090
So, from a consultant point of view,

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we know that there are some types of cancer that we can’t cure,

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00:19:41.730 –> 00:19:43.270
but we can control.

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00:19:44.370 –> 00:19:47.830
So, that would be the way that I would frame it in a positive way.

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For some, we might not be able to cure it

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or it might be very late stage or very difficult

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00:19:55.530 –> 00:19:57.290
and we can’t control it very well,

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00:19:57.470 –> 00:20:00.190
but we can still give really good palliative care

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00:20:00.190 –> 00:20:02.190
and we can make sure the patients are comfortable

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00:20:02.190 –> 00:20:04.570
and they’re looked after well in their own homes

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or in their own surroundings.

314
00:20:07.070 –> 00:20:09.110
So, that’s another positive thing,

315
00:20:09.130 –> 00:20:11.470
but it’s a different type of positivity that.

316
00:20:12.570 –> 00:20:14.490
So, depending on what you’re trying to achieve,

317
00:20:15.130 –> 00:20:17.710
you can still be positive, I think.

318
00:20:18.450 –> 00:20:20.910
But I would nuance that with saying

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our job is not just to be sugarcoat everything.

320
00:20:24.210 –> 00:20:25.510
We have to be realistic.

321
00:20:25.890 –> 00:20:27.330
That’s an interesting point

322
00:20:27.330 –> 00:20:30.690
because I’ve always been from the point of view for myself.

323
00:20:31.450 –> 00:20:33.970
Positivity is good to a certain extent,

324
00:20:33.970 –> 00:20:38.190
but I think realism and taking a realistic attitude.

325
00:20:38.270 –> 00:20:41.110
Because I find that if I wasn’t being realistic,

326
00:20:41.310 –> 00:20:44.750
I might overlook some things inside my body

327
00:20:44.750 –> 00:20:46.550
which might help you do your job.

328
00:20:46.550 –> 00:20:51.670
Yeah, so being honest and being open about uncertainty

329
00:20:51.670 –> 00:20:54.170
or about prognosis is really important.

330
00:20:54.270 –> 00:20:57.670
And that’s harder to do than being positive,

331
00:20:57.690 –> 00:20:58.890
but it’s very important.

332
00:20:59.650 –> 00:21:01.750
So, making sure that patients know

333
00:21:01.750 –> 00:21:03.610
what we’re trying to achieve here

334
00:21:04.470 –> 00:21:07.410
and what are the chances of achieving that

335
00:21:07.410 –> 00:21:09.470
and what are their potential complications.

336
00:21:10.870 –> 00:21:14.370
That’s our part of our job as well as being positive.

337
00:21:14.370 –> 00:21:16.570
You wrote down the word optimism there.

338
00:21:17.010 –> 00:21:18.710
Yeah, well, you mentioned the word optimism,

339
00:21:19.230 –> 00:21:21.690
but I was just thinking about the other side of things.

340
00:21:21.690 –> 00:21:22.930
If a patient comes in

341
00:21:23.850 –> 00:21:27.070
and they’re not willing to hear their diagnosis,

342
00:21:27.390 –> 00:21:29.970
so they come in full of positivity.

343
00:21:31.930 –> 00:21:34.510
And to coin a phrase, you need to burst their bubble.

344
00:21:36.070 –> 00:21:37.190
They’re in denial.

345
00:21:37.410 –> 00:21:38.310
Yeah, basically.

346
00:21:38.570 –> 00:21:41.590
But it sort of fits in with the positivity theme, doesn’t it?

347
00:21:41.590 –> 00:21:43.430
Because they come in going, oh, I’m going to be fine.

348
00:21:43.430 –> 00:21:47.450
You’re like, well, actually, it’s not quite that straightforward.

349
00:21:48.590 –> 00:21:51.250
I don’t know if you can answer this question,

350
00:21:52.310 –> 00:21:54.470
but does that happen very often?

351
00:21:56.890 –> 00:21:59.230
Not that often, but it happens often enough

352
00:21:59.230 –> 00:22:02.570
for us to be able to recognize it.

353
00:22:02.790 –> 00:22:05.630
In fact, very recently, I had a case like that

354
00:22:05.630 –> 00:22:08.690
where it was obvious to me that the patient was really ill

355
00:22:08.690 –> 00:22:13.950
and that they had a really aggressive malignancy,

356
00:22:14.230 –> 00:22:19.330
but they were convinced that it was infection

357
00:22:19.330 –> 00:22:23.550
or something else and that everything was going to be okay.

358
00:22:24.190 –> 00:22:27.890
And it takes time to turn something,

359
00:22:28.030 –> 00:22:30.130
turn someone around like that.

360
00:22:30.410 –> 00:22:32.670
You don’t want to lose their,

361
00:22:32.730 –> 00:22:35.050
you’ve got to establish trust because they often,

362
00:22:35.510 –> 00:22:37.170
the reason they might be like that

363
00:22:37.170 –> 00:22:41.890
is because they have fixed views about healthcare

364
00:22:41.890 –> 00:22:47.570
or treatments and might not want to hear from you.

365
00:22:47.870 –> 00:22:51.190
So you have to kind of establish a relationship

366
00:22:51.190 –> 00:22:55.550
sometimes first before you can have those

367
00:22:55.550 –> 00:22:56.530
difficult conversations.

368
00:22:56.590 –> 00:22:59.830
But they’re absolutely essential

369
00:22:59.830 –> 00:23:04.590
to adjust people’s expectations sometimes.

370
00:23:04.690 –> 00:23:05.810
Yeah, you’re absolutely right.

371
00:23:07.150 –> 00:23:10.110
Consultants have a tough balancing act really,

372
00:23:10.110 –> 00:23:10.530
don’t they?

373
00:23:10.890 –> 00:23:11.670
They do.

374
00:23:12.210 –> 00:23:15.650
I mean, you can just hear from what he’s just said

375
00:23:15.650 –> 00:23:17.690
about how compassionate he is,

376
00:23:18.030 –> 00:23:19.390
but he’s also got to deliver

377
00:23:19.390 –> 00:23:22.610
some very difficult messages sometimes.

378
00:23:22.930 –> 00:23:24.330
But on the flip side of it,

379
00:23:24.330 –> 00:23:27.190
he gets to deliver really good news as well.

380
00:23:27.650 –> 00:23:31.210
So, you know, I was interested to hear from his side,

381
00:23:32.770 –> 00:23:35.170
how he dealt with the positivity

382
00:23:35.170 –> 00:23:36.370
and the negative side

383
00:23:37.090 –> 00:23:39.910
and also how he delivered to patients.

384
00:23:40.590 –> 00:23:43.610
So, you know, even though we as patients

385
00:23:43.610 –> 00:23:45.470
were talking about positivity,

386
00:23:45.770 –> 00:23:47.090
how we can stay positive,

387
00:23:47.650 –> 00:23:48.930
we need our consultants

388
00:23:48.930 –> 00:23:51.210
to stay positive for us as well, don’t we?

389
00:23:51.790 –> 00:23:54.930
And we do need our friends and family

390
00:23:54.930 –> 00:23:57.150
to have that element of positivity.

391
00:23:57.410 –> 00:23:58.970
Although I found some,

392
00:23:58.970 –> 00:24:00.910
particularly online, you know,

393
00:24:00.990 –> 00:24:03.350
when people will say things like,

394
00:24:03.790 –> 00:24:05.130
oh, you got this,

395
00:24:05.270 –> 00:24:07.990
or just be positive and things like that.

396
00:24:08.750 –> 00:24:12.730
And that is, they mean well,

397
00:24:12.730 –> 00:24:14.790
once again, they mean well.

398
00:24:15.010 –> 00:24:16.990
And people don’t always know

399
00:24:17.650 –> 00:24:19.630
the best things to say

400
00:24:19.630 –> 00:24:22.670
and sometimes people are afraid of upsetting you.

401
00:24:23.270 –> 00:24:26.370
Yeah, yeah, I would say

402
00:24:27.630 –> 00:24:30.610
anybody that wants to interact with you is,

403
00:24:30.830 –> 00:24:31.690
yeah, thank you.

404
00:24:31.770 –> 00:24:33.170
Thank you for interacting with us.

405
00:24:33.450 –> 00:24:34.470
Yeah, we need that.

406
00:24:34.770 –> 00:24:37.090
Even if you say things that might grate on us,

407
00:24:37.130 –> 00:24:38.090
like you’ve got this,

408
00:24:38.090 –> 00:24:39.890
because actually we don’t got this.

409
00:24:40.770 –> 00:24:42.670
We’re still learning about it

410
00:24:42.670 –> 00:24:45.070
and that might grate us at the time.

411
00:24:45.110 –> 00:24:47.190
But the fact that you’ve made the effort

412
00:24:47.190 –> 00:24:48.530
to say something to us,

413
00:24:48.530 –> 00:24:50.150
thank you very much for doing that.

414
00:24:50.850 –> 00:24:53.730
So, but it leads us on to this whole thing

415
00:24:53.730 –> 00:24:56.010
about toxic positivity,

416
00:24:56.010 –> 00:24:58.990
because I don’t actually like the word toxic,

417
00:24:59.030 –> 00:25:01.750
because I don’t think people mean it to be toxic,

418
00:25:01.750 –> 00:25:02.710
as we’ve just said.

419
00:25:02.930 –> 00:25:04.310
But Brittany liked it, didn’t she?

420
00:25:05.010 –> 00:25:06.710
Toxic, that was Brittany, wasn’t it?

421
00:25:07.670 –> 00:25:09.450
Yes, Brittany Spears.

422
00:25:09.710 –> 00:25:11.570
Oh, God, you’re going back there, aren’t you?

423
00:25:12.090 –> 00:25:13.910
Well, I’m not a spring chicken, you know.

424
00:25:15.330 –> 00:25:20.090
So toxic positivity is defined as an overgeneralisation

425
00:25:20.630 –> 00:25:23.130
of an optimistic, happy state,

426
00:25:23.130 –> 00:25:25.430
no matter what the circumstance,

427
00:25:26.010 –> 00:25:29.610
and it is often associated with the denial

428
00:25:29.610 –> 00:25:31.350
of painful emotions,

429
00:25:31.350 –> 00:25:33.850
even when they are a normal response

430
00:25:33.850 –> 00:25:37.810
to a traumatic or stressful experience.

431
00:25:38.250 –> 00:25:41.210
While maintaining a positive mental attitude

432
00:25:42.350 –> 00:25:45.670
during a cancer diagnosis is a good thing,

433
00:25:46.450 –> 00:25:48.550
a complete denial of the challenges

434
00:25:48.550 –> 00:25:50.250
and emotions that arise

435
00:25:50.250 –> 00:25:53.650
is detrimental to a patient’s overall coping,

436
00:25:53.650 –> 00:25:56.990
so says this definition.

437
00:25:57.370 –> 00:26:00.450
Furthermore, the pervasive use of social media

438
00:26:00.450 –> 00:26:03.070
often reinforces messages

439
00:26:03.070 –> 00:26:05.750
of what’s called toxic positivity.

440
00:26:05.850 –> 00:26:06.830
We’ve mentioned about this,

441
00:26:07.050 –> 00:26:08.830
don’t worry, just stay positive,

442
00:26:08.950 –> 00:26:11.730
you got this, just focus on the good.

443
00:26:13.230 –> 00:26:16.710
But there are also things out there

444
00:26:16.710 –> 00:26:19.070
just to say, well, sort of the good things

445
00:26:19.070 –> 00:26:21.270
you can say or do, you know, as you said,

446
00:26:21.270 –> 00:26:24.710
you know, I’m glad I’m seeing you,

447
00:26:24.830 –> 00:26:26.990
how are you feeling today, really?

448
00:26:27.270 –> 00:26:28.690
You know, that’s one thing maybe,

449
00:26:28.710 –> 00:26:30.530
or I’m thinking about you

450
00:26:30.530 –> 00:26:32.210
and care about how you’re doing,

451
00:26:32.950 –> 00:26:36.490
and what can I do to support you right now?

452
00:26:36.550 –> 00:26:39.630
Tell me what would help or just let me be there.

453
00:26:39.930 –> 00:26:42.530
Yeah, or like, how are you doing today?

454
00:26:43.430 –> 00:26:47.150
You know, so it’s more focused, isn’t it?

455
00:26:47.290 –> 00:26:50.890
And there’s more thought behind the comment,

456
00:26:50.890 –> 00:26:52.850
it’s more personalised, I think.

457
00:26:53.470 –> 00:26:57.830
Yes, so I think that there is a lot of information

458
00:26:57.830 –> 00:26:59.690
out there to help people,

459
00:27:01.490 –> 00:27:04.770
maybe if you’re a friend or family member

460
00:27:04.770 –> 00:27:08.050
of someone who has a diagnosis

461
00:27:08.050 –> 00:27:11.050
and you’re not sure how to deal with it,

462
00:27:11.270 –> 00:27:15.090
we will be doing a special episode on this,

463
00:27:15.090 –> 00:27:16.650
because you’ve had people asking.

464
00:27:17.030 –> 00:27:19.030
Yeah, I’ve had a few people come to me and say,

465
00:27:19.090 –> 00:27:20.210
you know, as friends and family,

466
00:27:20.210 –> 00:27:21.770
we’d really appreciate a podcast

467
00:27:22.310 –> 00:27:23.950
looking at things from our side.

468
00:27:24.090 –> 00:27:26.730
You know, what resources are there for us?

469
00:27:27.290 –> 00:27:28.330
What things can we say?

470
00:27:28.450 –> 00:27:29.550
What things can we do?

471
00:27:29.970 –> 00:27:31.470
What’s a right thing to do?

472
00:27:31.470 –> 00:27:32.710
What’s a wrong thing to do?

473
00:27:33.110 –> 00:27:34.650
Well, I think we already know the answer to that.

474
00:27:34.670 –> 00:27:36.070
There is no real right and wrong thing,

475
00:27:36.070 –> 00:27:38.850
but it’s something that we can definitely expand on

476
00:27:38.850 –> 00:27:41.210
and I think do a whole podcast,

477
00:27:41.250 –> 00:27:45.950
but I think we probably need to get hold of some people

478
00:27:45.950 –> 00:27:47.450
and have a chat with some people.

479
00:27:47.450 –> 00:27:49.450
I think a good thing,

480
00:27:49.670 –> 00:27:52.010
a good starting point is just to have a hug.

481
00:27:52.550 –> 00:27:53.510
Well, yeah, that’s good,

482
00:27:53.510 –> 00:27:56.790
but obviously that has to be a physical thing, doesn’t it?

483
00:27:57.130 –> 00:27:59.050
And, you know, I’ve got friends up country

484
00:27:59.050 –> 00:28:00.730
that I’m trying to stay in touch with,

485
00:28:00.770 –> 00:28:01.770
so it’s a bit difficult.

486
00:28:01.810 –> 00:28:03.490
I mean, you can send a virtual hug, can’t you?

487
00:28:03.530 –> 00:28:06.390
Yes, you know, little sort of pointy brackets

488
00:28:06.390 –> 00:28:08.450
and hugs spelt with a Z on the end.

489
00:28:08.810 –> 00:28:12.050
Well, yeah, Gen X, Z, Y, whatever it is.

490
00:28:12.930 –> 00:28:15.190
Okay, so we’re coming to the end of the episode.

491
00:28:15.190 –> 00:28:17.950
Why don’t you just give our hug to people?

492
00:28:18.390 –> 00:28:20.890
Oh, yeah, so big hug from us to you

493
00:28:20.890 –> 00:28:24.010
because when you give a hug, you get a hug.

494
00:28:25.210 –> 00:28:26.170
And I’ve just got to say

495
00:28:26.170 –> 00:28:28.410
that I’m not a doctor or a psychologist.

496
00:28:28.730 –> 00:28:29.990
I’ve got no specialism.

497
00:28:31.430 –> 00:28:31.770
Have you?

498
00:28:31.970 –> 00:28:34.310
No, but I seem to be spouting lots of stuff these days,

499
00:28:34.350 –> 00:28:36.570
but no, I’ve got no medical training.

500
00:28:36.730 –> 00:28:38.070
I’ve got no counseling training.

501
00:28:38.190 –> 00:28:40.330
We’re just people that have lived with cancer.

502
00:28:41.090 –> 00:28:43.690
And that is why it’s been good to have

503
00:28:43.690 –> 00:28:48.470
Dr. Louise Brown and David Tucker on the program today

504
00:28:48.470 –> 00:28:51.270
because they do have those expertises.

505
00:28:51.470 –> 00:28:52.870
They do, and we’re really grateful

506
00:28:52.870 –> 00:28:54.830
that they’ve taken time out to speak to us,

507
00:28:54.830 –> 00:28:55.890
so thank you to them.

508
00:28:56.290 –> 00:29:01.070
Okay, so we’ll hear more from Dr. Louise Brown

509
00:29:01.070 –> 00:29:04.770
and from David Tucker in upcoming episodes.

510
00:29:05.150 –> 00:29:08.030
And I just want to thank you for listening,

511
00:29:08.030 –> 00:29:11.130
and please do pass around the message that we’re here.

512
00:29:11.130 –> 00:29:14.910
Have a look at our website, cancercafe.org.

513
00:29:15.110 –> 00:29:17.450
Go to our Facebook page as well

514
00:29:17.450 –> 00:29:19.630
where you’ll get the latest episodes.

515
00:29:20.350 –> 00:29:22.770
And maybe if you’re going to a support group,

516
00:29:22.810 –> 00:29:24.230
just have a chat and just, yeah,

517
00:29:24.530 –> 00:29:27.510
gently point people to the fact that we’re here.

518
00:29:27.610 –> 00:29:28.970
That’s a good idea, do you think?

519
00:29:29.230 –> 00:29:31.410
Yeah, I mean, the people that have listened

520
00:29:31.410 –> 00:29:32.470
to our podcasts,

521
00:29:32.610 –> 00:29:34.850
I’ve had really positive feedback from them.

522
00:29:35.210 –> 00:29:36.710
So those people that are listening,

523
00:29:37.030 –> 00:29:38.470
hello, thank you very much,

524
00:29:38.770 –> 00:29:40.850
but please tell your friends to listen to us.

525
00:29:40.850 –> 00:29:42.550
We’d like to get our numbers up.

526
00:29:43.250 –> 00:29:47.470
And we will be talking with you again next week.

527
00:29:47.630 –> 00:29:48.230
Bye-bye.

528
00:29:48.430 –> 00:29:48.970
Bye-bye.

529
00:29:54.980 –> 00:29:57.260
Thanks to the National Lottery Community Fund

530
00:29:57.260 –> 00:29:59.200
for supporting this podcast.