During my personal journey through cancer, now over thirteen years ago, I made an interesting emotional observation. This observation led me to coin a term I call "a sick mentality". For anyone who has even been very sick and/or fought a deadly illness or disease such as cancer you will identify with either having or fighting this mentality. It starts with accepting that you are not in perfect health and that, in itself, is not bad. In fact, for simple life preservation, many times it is imperative that you change things about your lifestyle, actions and attitudes.
However, after those changes have been made if is important that you do not get a "sick mentality". By that I mean that all you think about, talk about....every action you take is based on an inner attitude of "I am a sick person". Our minds work in such a way that the more we tell ourselves we are sick we actually spiral down mentally and emotionally which then may cause us to spiral down more physically. It will become a vicious spiral unless steps are taken to stop it.
One of the best ways to help keep the spiral from starting - or to stop it and start it moving the opposite direction is to take action regarding how you take care of yourself and how you look. I firmly believe that looking your best is a cancer treatment.
I know you don't feel good during the cancer journey and that it is more of a challenge physically to put yourself together, especially if your body has changed due to surgery. You will find, though, that if you get up each morning and get dressed (even if you are not going anywhere) it does something to your psyche. You do not have to dress up or even dress in street clothes. Just pulling on a pair of comfy pull-on pants and a soft top that are color coordinated is a good start. When you stay in your bedclothes you tend to feel lazy and sloppy. That affects how you walk and hold yourself. You need to be standing up straight and talking steps not shuffling if you physically capable of doing that. On a day when you are going somewhere, like the doctors office or perhaps you need to work even though you are ill be sure to think about wearing something that is a bit fitted and in a color that complements your complexion. These two things alone will make you feel a bit more perky and pretty.
Your skin care and makeup regimen also need to morph with you during this time...but that does not mean doing nothing because you don't feel like it. This is a sure way to make yourself feel worse with that "sick mentality" spiral. You need to be doing basic skin care and putting your face on daily. A simple makeup regimen of an organic mineral foundation in a sun-kissed color combined with a moisturizing colored lip gloss and a bit or mascara only takes a couple of minutes to apply. If you are on a chemotherapy that causes hair loss there are a few more steps you can add for days you need to look a bit more professional or dressed up. There are several companies that offer eyebrow stencils and there is even a company called NuBrow that sells eyebrow prosthetics! These prosthetic eyebrows can be dyed to match your natural hair color and will last up to six weeks of daily applications. A simple dot and smear technique to give the illusion of eyelashes is easy to learn or you can have false eyelashes professionally applied. (Please do not apply them yourself unless you have been doing it already for years. Your eyes are especially susceptible to infection during treatment, It is not worth taking the risk. You will love the dot and smear method as an alternative.)
More than perhaps any other time in your life you will want to adopt a KISS attitude..."keep it simple sister". Just remember simple does not equal doing nothing. This is a time to explore your options and have some fun doing it. So much is being dictated for you but this is something you can take control of. Looking your best really is cancers silent treatment.
Carin Hansen was diagnosed with breast cancer at age 40. After a long battle she emerged victorious and began a one-on-one wardrobe and beauty consulting business for other women journeying through cancer. She has been a model, actress, talent agency owner, benefit founder, certified acting/modeling instructor, writer, speaker and passionate cancer advocate. It is important to remember that Carin is not a physician and does not subscribe to or recommend any particular medical procedure or alternative treatment. She strongly urges you to consult with your Primary Physician, Oncologist and/or Surgeon before implementing any of her curriculum. Please visit http://www.bridges2beauty.net for information and products related to beauty and cancer along with self-esteem building. Subscribe to one or both of her free monthly newsletters. We also invite you to visit her blog at http://bridges2beauty.wordpress.com. You may also want to purchase her e-book Beauty During the Cancer Journey. Just go to http://www.bridges2beauty.net/e_books.html
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