Hospital Visits Turn Scary?


Medical support cancer patients BostonWith COVID-19 turning our lives upside-down, it became harder and scarier for cancer patients in active treatment to visit the places meant to heal them. If heading into treatment was not challenging enough before, now, the fear of catching the virus made the whole ordeal that much more demanding.

As a result, more and more of my clients (and maybe you have also felt this way) wanted me to help program their minds to a “Teflon” level, where they can easily reject any irrational thoughts and, at the same time, minimize fear.

Is it possible? Well, yes and no. What I mean by that is it depends on your level of exposure to external stimuli such as the media, family, and friends. If you consume very little current events, enjoy a supportive home team that understands how important the role they play, and generally does well managing your focus, yes, it’s possible. From my experience, this will be the exception, not the rule.

What Can You Do?

Let’s face it, many of us can’t escape the media buzz about the virus or expect our loved ones to filter themselves when we’re around constantly. The world is a different place now, and adjusting will take time.

So what can we do to ensure we safely get through this moment?

The short answer is we guard our focus as if our lives depend on it. It means we carefully choose what we think about, what we focus upon, and what kind of information we allow into our awareness. As importantly, we learn simple but practical tools to help us get back on top if we fall.

I’m not suggesting living in denial in any way, but instead exercising a fasting and cleansing approach toward any source limiting or pinching your sense of well-being. After all, it’s just for a little while.

The one tool I recommend you learn, which I teach my clients on day one, is the Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT). It’s a form of “emotional acupuncture” or “mindful acupressure” that involves the stimulation of traditional Chinese acupuncture points. However, instead of using needles, EFT uses a technique of gentle tapping on these points.

Easy to Learn, Easy to Apply.

Give me an hour, and I’ll teach you how to do it properly and effectively. It works 99% of the time and will become your go-to method when undesired emotions and thoughts come up.

To help those I work with continue practicing from home, I’ve created a series of tutorial videos and a printed manual to reference. There are various outlets where you can learn how it’s done, albeit with some hype.

Wherever you are along the treatment cycle, please know you don’t have to go at it alone. If this resonates, send me a message so we can explore what might best support you.

Avinoam Lerner.