LINKS & ARCHIVE PAGE 2 (Informational Support)

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Supports
There are different types of (social) support through family, friend, and formal sources. For example:
  • Emotional, Practical, Sharing points of view, and Sharing information
  • Or it can be categorized as: Emotional, Instrumental, Informational, and Appraisal

The Road to Resilience - APA

Mind-Body Practices in Cancer Care (Current Oncology Reports)
  • “Mind-body techniques such as meditation, yoga, tai chi, and qigong have been found to lower distress and lead to improvements in different aspects of quality of life. It is essential that the standard of care in oncology include distress screening and the delivery of different techniques to help patients manage the psychosocial challenges of diagnosis and treatment of cancer…”

Exercising to relax (Full article, Harvard Medical School Online)
Since we have a chronic genetic illness like VHL, we are prone to stress that is chronic. I liked this article because it categorizes the various reliable stress management strategies or exercises into 2 types:
  1. Aerobic and endurance: those physical exercises involving the body. E.g. Walking, jogging, ellipticals, sports, group activities, and stretching
  2. "Autoregulation": those mental exercises involving the mind. E.g. Breathing exercises, meditation, Benson “relaxation response” talking things out with someone, writing/journaling, and progressive muscle relaxation
Stress symptoms of body and mind amplify and interact with each other, so presenting 2 "types" of strategies  seems more manageable and memorable. Usually various stress reduction strategies are talked about separately.

Different types of stress, APA
  • Chronic genetic illness like VHL involves stress that is chronic

Parents with children with chronic illness review article - Hospital for Sick Kids
  • Although article mentions "heart disease", the tips can be transferred to other chronic conditions like VHL!

Manage stress: Strengthen your support network - APA (American Psychological Association)
  •  “In fact, experts say, almost all of us benefit from social and emotional support… You don’t need a huge network of friends and family to benefit from social support… Seek out peer support.  If you’re dealing with a specific stressful situation — such as caring for a family member or dealing with a chronic illness…”

Wellspring’s brochure called “Strength, Confidence, Skills, and Hope” is inspiring as it describes a..
  • “focus on the person, not the disease”
Tips for Doing Your Research on the Web:
WHO-5: The 5-item World Health Organization Well-Being Index (WHO-5) is among the most widely used questionnaires assessing subjective psychological well-being - English version
Mental Health Meter
Assessing our mental health is not as simple to do as measuring our physical health. There are no scales or endurance tests that rate mental fitness. But with the help of the Canadian Mental Health Association’s Mental Health Meter, you can reflect on your unique strengths and identify areas where your level of mental fitness could be improved to help you cope with all of life’s up and downs. 

Other:

Find us here
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VHL Canada is a small registered charitable organization* started by a patient in 2016 that facilitates peer support with patients and their family members coping with VHL in Canada
*  BN: 800804676 RR0001
canada.ca