What to Do When Hope Runs Low | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 133

Disappointment on a cancer journey: what to do when hope runs low

Maybe a treatment didn’t work the way you hoped, or someone you counted on didn’t show up. Disappointment is part of a cancer journey, and the usual advice to stay positive or lower your expectations leaves you with nowhere to put what you actually feel.

This healing and emotional wellness conversation from The Cancer Journey Podcast looks at the space between toxic positivity and giving up. You’ll hear why letting yourself be disappointed for a set amount of time helps, how to listen for the message underneath it, and why avoiding the feeling keeps you from the things you want.

If hope has felt hard to hold lately, or you’ve been numbing out and distracting yourself so you don’t have to feel it, this one is for you. You don’t have to pick a side. You can feel the let-down, let it move, and find another way toward what matters to you.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro and weekly check-in

1:10 Why disappointment is part of a cancer journey

3:15 Why lowering your expectations doesn’t protect you

5:00 Toxic positivity and giving up

7:30 Setting a timer to say it all out loud

9:30 Why it’s a spectrum, not two options

11:30 Ways to release it

14:00 What a coach adds when you say it out loud

16:30 Disappointment as a messenger

18:30 Disappointment is proof you wanted something

20:00 Why coaches don’t fix or give advice

22:00 Numbing and distracting yourself

24:00 Letting yourself say the ridiculous things

25:30 How emotions speak

26:30 Takeaway: avoiding disappointment means avoiding what you want

27:30 Closing thoughts

New episodes of The Cancer Journey Podcast drop weekly.

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Anger on a cancer journey: what to do with it before you speak up

A cancer experience gives you plenty of reasons to be angry. A doctor who rushes you. A clinic visit that leaves you feeling like the problem. Being emotionally intelligent doesn't make that anger disappear, and it doesn't mean you have to swallow it either.

This healing and emotional wellness conversation from The Cancer Journey Podcast is about the space between feeling furious and knowing what to say. You'll hear why taking time before you respond counts as processing, and how to find the feeling underneath the anger so you can ask for what you need.

If you've ever stayed quiet in an appointment and replayed it for days, or you're working with a doctor you trust medically who doesn't make you feel human, this one is for you. You can be scared for your life and still keep your voice.

Chapters:

0:00 Intro and weekly check-in

1:32 When a routine appointment goes sideways

5:23 Swallowing your voice

10:30 Feeling unseen, unheard, and not gotten

11:32 Emotional intelligence when you're angry

13:12 Letting the heat settle before you act

16:03 Safe places to let it out

16:50 Anger and the medical system

22:20 Being scared and keeping your voice

26:14 Takeaway: permission

27:35 Closing thoughts

New episodes of The Cancer Journey Podcast drop weekly.

#CancerJourneyPodcast #HealingPodcast #EmotionalWellness #CancerPodcast #CancerCoaching

You’re Allowed to Want Something | The Cancer Journey Podcast | Episode 131You can't get back to normal after cancer. Here's what to reach for instead.Maybe you've caught yourself thinking it too: I just want things back to how they were. It's a natural thing to want. It's also not available to you anymore. There's no normal left to return to. Only change.That doesn't mean there's nothing to look forward to. This episode is about what happens when you stop reaching backward and let yourself want something ahead of you instead, even without a plan for how to get there. A dream doesn't have to be big or fully formed. It just has to be yours, planted without judgment about the path.If you've been waiting to feel excited about anything until things settle down, this conversation makes the case for doing it now, in the middle of the hard part, not after it.Chapters:0:00 Intro and weekly check-in1:44 Naming the overwhelm honestly3:52 Reflecting on past cancer journeys with gratitude4:42 The Italy expansion: an adventure years in the making8:37 The Italian book launch and ICF conference sponsorship10:24 Supporting the Cancer Journey Foundation13:08 Fifteen years of CJI and the road that led here14:56 "I want normal again. There's only change."17:01 Why growth includes struggle, not just excitement21:31 Values as a compass for what excites you24:39 Planting the seed: holding a dream without a map26:04 Takeaway: setting a dream at the end of the tunnel27:24 The steps to getting there are the qualities of being there28:49 Closing thoughtsNew episodes of The Cancer Journey Podcast drop weekly.#CancerJourneyPodcast #HealingPodcast #SelfDiscoveryPodcast #CancerPodcast #CancerCoaching