Grief and Stress Management Strategies

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Fight Colorectal Cancer’s 12th annual Call-on Congress is just around the corner! Survivors, caregivers and colorectal cancer champions will be convening in Washington, D.C for three days to push for policies surrounding colorectal cancer (CRC), and to educate and empower elected officials to raise their voices in the fight against CRC. This year, we’re introducing new things to Call-on Congress including breakout sessions for patient education, a global panel to hear about cancer research progress around the world (that will be live-streamed on Facebook!), and presentations from experts in the field. The event will culminate in the highly-anticipated Hill Day on March 20. According to Yasmeem Watson, a stage IV survivor and active research advocate with Fight CRC, participants should:
“be open to new experiences. At Call-on Congress you will meet strangers who transform into family within a matter of minutes. Leave the worries of intimidation at the door - your voice, your story, it needs to be heard!”

Emotionally Preparing for Advocacy

Call-on Congress can be a very exciting and empowering event, but it can also be an emotionally-charged time that brings up many feelings and thoughts. As we prepare for this exciting and important gathering, we wanted to share some tips from Dr. Jana Bolduan Lomax, a Licensed Clinical Psychologist with Shift Healing in Colorado to help participants manage stress and grief throughout the event. Dr. Bolduan Lomax suggests: 1. Engaging your social support network. Let your friends and loved ones know that you are attending Call-on Congress and ask them to be “on-call” if need to reach out to them during the event for support and encouragement. 2. Focusing on clear, concise, and meaningful communication. We attend Call-on Congress to both talk AND listen. We all have personal reasons for being involved. However, we are also representing the national Fight CRC community as advocates and change makers. Please be respectful and considerate of one another and the policy makers. We don’t want your important message being overshadowed by over-emotional or uncivil behaviors.

Get information about respectful communication.

3. Taking care of yourself. If you find that you are getting triggered emotionally or feeling angry, please take a moment to step away and compose yourself. Please take deep breaths and/or find a mentor leader to speak with about your feelings. 4. Planning for some adaptive coping strategies. You may find yourself emotionally, physically, cognitively and socially exhausted each day or at the end of the event. Please prepare for some self-care each day:
  • Take a bath or a walk
  • Journal- Write your thoughts, feelings and hopes – in case you are feeling too emotional to express them verbally
  • Prayer/meditation/deep breathing
  • Distraction technique – do something unrelated to Fight CRC or unrelated to the event to give your brain and body a little break from the intensity of it
  • Have fun
  • Stress management
5. Remembering help is available. Don’t forget Fight CRC has trained counselors who can offer support through the Cancer Support Community. If you need a professional/experienced ear to listen about what you are feeling and experiencing, please utilize the Cancer Support Helpline at any time: 1-877-427-2111. Florence Kurttila, a 17-year stage II survivor and Fight CRC research advocate provides perspective as to what you can expect for Call-on Congress and ways to manage the emotions to be successful in the fight. She reminds us that the logistics are in place, and that “there is always someone available to help, encourage, practice with and tell you where to go.” Florence suggests:
“bring pictures of your loved ones. Bring momentos. Have pictures available of your chemo sessions so lawmakers can put a face with a story and a name with a request. Bring your business cards. Be vivid with your stories and know that they will make an impact. Become a friend to your lawmaker and legislative aide, always indicating you are happy to help with anything and will be in contact with them. The stress goes away after a few visits, and the enthusiasm keeps getting stronger and stronger.”
To successfully advocate at Call-on Congress, it’s necessary to fight in a manner that will be conducive to the whole group. Please take some time to acknowledge your thoughts and emotions before the event. We gather each year at Call-on Congress for a cause bigger than ourselves. We represent and fight for a large population of people that have a connection to colorectal cancer. We make our voices heard - and we’re loud. See you in D.C.!

2 thoughts on “Grief and Stress Management Strategies

  1. I think this helped as I read it I realized I was crying through the whole article and know I am way to emotional about loosing my sister last year~ after her long fight and that I need to keep it in check and know her fight is still being fought… as it belongs to many and my Rose was only one in a million~one million strong …. A much larger purpose here than my own emotions. Thanks for the great info. It does help to read…I can and will do better…
    See you all soon ~ can’t wait…
    Jodana Lynn

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