SelfhelpMagazine

by: Annette L. Stanton, Ph.D. & Colleagues

A study of breast cancer patients experience less distress and a more favorable health outlook when they are more able to cope if they express their emotions, such as talking about their fears.

The benefits of this type of coping are apparent even several months following diagnosis and are associated with fewer medical appointments for problems related to cancer and its treatment.

Lead author Annette L. Stanton, Ph.D., and other researchers from the University of Kansas say their study of 92 women diagnosed with Stage I or II breast cancer suggests that by expressing a sense of loss of control, for example, "one may begin to distinguish what one can and cannot control to channel energy toward attainable goals, and to generate alternate pathways for bolstering control."

The findings also suggest that repeatedly voicing emotions helps decrease negative emotions and their accompanying nervous system overload. The ability to voice emotions help cancer patients in this study to believe that their situation is not as dire as originally believed. These patients also showed the ability to find some benefit from their adversity.

The women participating in the study were recruited within 20 weeks after completing primary treatment (surgery, chemotherapy, radiation) for breast cancer. This time period was chosen to minimize the influence of the different types of medical treatments and because of the increased distress experienced during this time. A three-month follow-up was also conducted.

The findings imply that psychological training in coping skills designed to facilitate emotional expression may bolster adjustment for women confronting breast cancer, said the authors.

For example, women may be more likely to seek out support groups or develop other areas for expression, such as writing. They add that these psychological and social interventions may also lead to better physical health outcomes as the breast cancer patients make more efficient use of medical care.

More research is needed, say the authors, but "perhaps active engagement in the attempt to understand one's emotions that continues from the time of diagnosis through treatment termination reflects cognitive rumination (chronically and passively thinking about feelings) which has been demonstrated to exacerbate distress."

Article Citation: "Emotionally Expressive Coping Predicts Psychological and Physical Adjustment to Breast Cancer," Annette L. Stanton, Ph.D., Sharon Danoff-Burg, Ph.D., Christine L. Cameron, Ph.D., Michelle Bishop, Ph.D., Charlotte A. Collins, Ph.D., Sarah B Kirk, Ph.D., Lisa A. Sworowski, Ph.D., University of Kansas & Robert Twillman, Ph.D., University of Kansas Medical Center; Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, Vol. 68, No. 5.

This information received from the American Psychological Association (APA), in Washington, DC.