Tag Archives: Resource

So what is motivation ?

Motivation is the determination to reach our personal goals or desires. It is influenced by how much we want to achieve that goal, what we might gain from the achievement and what we from expect from ourselves.
There is little doubt that when it comes to health and wellness, the ability to stay positively motivated and continue with good physical activity and nutrition habits can be a struggle. Often we start out strong and then ‘life’ gets in the way and we go back to our old, perhaps not so good, behaviours. So here are some quick tips to help you stay motivated. 

- Self-belief to stay motivated is important as it influences our thinking. Developing a positive and high self-belief can create successful changes in our behaviours especially during exercise and help us reach our goals. Use positive self-affirmations.

- Find your reason why you want to achieve this goal, write it up somewhere and keep your focus on it, this is often a good way to stay motivated if you feel you are faltering.

- Set realistic, rewarding goals and regularly review them. This is a key aspect of keeping yourself motivated to get the positive benefits. To start with, it is sometimes helpful to just set one achievable goal and work it into your daily routine, break it down into manageable parts.  For example if your goal is to exercise, start by doing a daily walk for 30 minutes. Have a timeframe for when you want to have achieved this a s regular activity and then build on it.

- Keep a good and regular routine – Use an app or a reminder system so you can’t let the day escape before you have achieved your daily goal – some people make this work by creating a daily appointment for themselves just as they would for any other appointment for example the hairdresser, doctor, dentist or a friend. Being busy’ or ‘being too tired’ often causes a break down in the routine that was
initially set.

- Use your family and friends as support – tell them about your goals and encourage them to help keep you motivated. Buddy up with someone so you can help and motivate each-other or get yourself a mentor to guide you. Check your goals and your progress frequently. Seeing good progress is a great motivator in itself, and can also improve your self-confidence.

- Keep goals fun and reward yourself when you have achieved them, make a plan for when and how you will do this. Put a note on your calendar for reward day so you keep progressing towards the goal.

Remember …..
If you lose motivation for a day or two, don’t let that deter you. Pick yourself up and carry back on again, see it as a challenge not a failure, setbacks are normal.

Sexuality and Relationships after Cancer

Cancer doesn’t just affect the person diagnosed it has an impact on the people who are closest to them and it can also be very stressful for their partners. For many partners there will be a period of shock, anxiety and fear until they have adjusted to the situation. There are many tricky topics for couples to negotiate during diagnosis, through treatment, and beyond and one of those topics is sexuality and intimacy.

Being close to someone who has been diagnosed and treated for cancer can impact on all aspects of the relationship including the sexual and intimate relationship of a couple. There may be a number of concerns, including resuming sexual activity because you are afraid of hurting your partner, or concerned that initiating sex is inappropriate when they are feeling tired or unwell. You may be worried about showing shock at scar or other bodily changes due to treatments, or anxious that the chemotherapy and radiotherapy could have an effect on you. It may be that you are worried about the future and are fearful of losing your partner. All of these issues may play a role in diminished sexual intimacy.

Equally your partner may be concerned about whether you will still find her attractive, how you see her now, and if you will be comparing things to how they were before. These concerns are common, and you may be both making assumptions about how the other feels without knowing it. Communication with your partner is key and taking the time to discuss how she feels about intimacy, and when she thinks a good time might be to resume sexual activity. It is important to have an open and honest conversation that remains supportive to discuss fears and worries you both have, dispel some myths  and how you will overcome them and potentially show affection in other ways.

If you can relate to some of these points, it is really important to chat to a health professional, there are often simple strategies to help address these problems.

Below are some resources that may also be helpful:

https://www.canceraustralia.gov.au/affected-cancer/cancer-types/breast-cancer/impact-breast-cancer-sexuality-and-intimacy

https://www.petermac.org/services/support-services/cancersurvivorship/survdirect/sex-and-intimacy

https://www.cancervic.org.au/living-with-cancer/sexuality-and-intimacy/sexuality-and-intimacy-overview

https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/impacts-of-cancer/sex-and-cancer

https://breastcancernow.org/sites/default/files/intimacy_and_sexuality_for_cancer_patients_and_their_partners.pdf

Sugar Myths

It is often difficult to sort fact from fiction in relating to diets. You may well have heard that sugar should be avoided in the diet because it feeds cancer, this article looks at myths and facts relating to this topic and well worth reading.

Sugar and cancer myths by Queensland Health – Nemo resource available at:

https://www.health.gov.au/nutrition/resources/oncol_dietmyth.pdf