The fear of cancer
The fear of having cancer can be harmful. Some sufferers who have unknowingly lived with cancer for decades can become so shocked at learning they have the disease that they make a turn for the worse.
Why does this happen?
According to the rule of expectations, what we expect is what tends to occur. If someone considers the diagnosis of cancer to be a death sentence, this person could then expect to die. This person gripped by fear of death may find it very difficult to focus on anything else and could then create a self fulfilling prophecy.
Quite obviously, the fear of cancer is not at all helpful in the fight against cancer. Instead of just having cancer to contend with (a formidable challenge on its own) the sufferer now has two equally serious problems to face.
What is fear exactly?
Fear is an emotional response to information which is supposed to help protect us. Our emotions evolved to help us defend ourselves against physical threats, such as if we are attacked. We use fear to activate the so called “fight or flight” response in our bodies. Our bodies flood with adrenaline so we can effectively fight for our lives or flee.
Unfortunately for us, cancer is not an external threat and so running away obviously won’t work. Also, the “fight or flight” response makes matters worse when it comes to healing the body. The natural immune function is put on rations when the body is in the “fight or flight” mode as all resources are directed towards fighting the perceived threat.
How do we overcome this fear?
If fear is an emotional response to information, what would happen if we changed the information? In life, it’s not what happens to us that makes the biggest difference, but what we think of what happens to us that does. If we change the information and how we think about the information, we’ll get a different response.
Hypnotherapy is a wonderful tool for changing information in the mind, as long as it’s voluntary. Using hypnotherapy, it’s often possible to show a victim of fear that the fear is only information and not a physical threat in itself. It’s also usually possible to show the victim that the information isn't helpful and to then help motivate the person to change the information.
Can we use our emotions to help us fight against cancer?
Instead of just removing the fear of cancer, it’s possible using hypnotherapy to help cancer victims to convert fear into courage. It’s also possible using hypnotherapy to instil a fighting attitude towards beating cancer.
Of course, hypnotherapy isn't the cure for cancer, but it is an indispensable part of the fight against cancer. All the medicine in the world won't help a person dying of fright! To help the victim of fear, you have to remove the fear, or even better, replace it with a positive emotion such as the courage to win.