When we bring negative beliefs into the light, they begin to lose power. Very often this happens after an appointment with a psychologist. When a patient leaves the office, one of his phrases may be “Thank you, I feel much better.” Why do you think? He spoke out! I was able to voice my thoughts and give them a more material form through speech accompanied by a professional. As already mentioned in one of the previous articles, a person did not allow a thought trap to develop, but followed the path of finding a solution. Regarding cancer patients, we can say that cancer only strengthens a person’s negative beliefs, gives greater self-doubt in oneself and one’s abilities. For example, such beliefs like: Now I’m not like everyone else I’m helpless I’m not beautiful I’m a failure Just feel how these phrases immediately begin to put pressure, leading you into a negative state, although a minute ago you didn’t even think about it. Frequently turning to an oncopsychologist in a hospital setting is to rethink the world itself, adapt to a new situation, i.e. moving away from a negative perception of the world to a more real one. In my practice, I often encounter the fact that many people experience stereotypical thinking towards an oncologist: “since you are a psychologist, that means you work with psychotics, but I’m not a psychopath, Therefore, you can’t help me in any way, I know everything about myself.” This is especially true for older people. Can you imagine how many times I’ve heard this? The profession of psychologist is relatively new for people, and not everyone understands the difference between a psychologist and a psychotherapist and psychiatrist. But if your little toe hurts, you go to the doctor. Are you trying to find out why this happened and how to treat it? So why when crisis situations arise in life such as: serious illness, unemployment, economic difficulties, traffic accidents, natural disasters, violence in relationships, etc., do we not go to a specialist who can help us find the source of the trigger and tell me how to get rid of it? When dealing with one’s negative beliefs, triggers and attitudes on one’s own, a person spends a huge amount of energy and effort that he could use in a more productive direction. The main message of working with a psychologist is that difficulties and crisis situations can motivate you look deep into yourself and discover resources that you did not know about. Often, after group and individual sessions, patients find in themselves the potential and resource that helps them undergo treatment and not stop at the most critical moment. Often this potential and resource is the person himself and how he recognizes and transforms his negative beliefs that were formed at the initial stage of cancer. Summarizing the above, it is important to note that physical and psychological rehabilitation to a new life situation are mandatory when accepting your diagnosis. If you pay attention to only one part of rehabilitation, it will be difficult to achieve complete acceptance of the situation. We discuss the topic of adaptation and implementation in more detail in the online course of psychological rehabilitation for cancer patients, where you can enroll. Psychological online rehabilitation of cancer patients. If you are interested in this topic and have read to the end, let me know and put it in your karma. Thank you!