For many, the holiday season is usually synonymous with gatherings and celebrations with family and friends. It’s a happy moment, where you want to please your loved ones. For others, it’s a hectic time, interspersed with stress and anxiety. Are holidays for you more stressful than festive?

Are you the type of person who cannot relax and for whom the very idea of relaxation or joining a group generates tension? If so, this article is for you!

Since year-end festivities can be exhausting, even when you’re in good health, they may be even harder for you if you have prostate cancer. In this context, relaxation is a complementary tool that can be done during each step of your care, during and after treatment. Here are a few tips on how to better relax to improve your overall well-being.

Combat stress through relaxation

The fundamental element of relaxation is breathing. Learn to breathe correctly – and you will control your mental state and your emotions better. Here are a few suggestions for breathing techniques that you can use with ease on a daily basis. Practice them regularly – and you will quickly appreciate the benefits they bring.

First of all, focus on your breathing. To better understand how you breathe, ask yourself:

• Is your breathing fast or calm?
• Are you breathing in deep or not?
• Do you breathe with your stomach or your chest?

The last question above is crucial, because, in general, one should breathe with the stomach, which means having deep and calm breathing. If you don’t breathe this way, use these exercises to improve your breathing technique and feel less stressed during prostate cancer treatment.

How does one breathe with the stomach?

While sitting, close your eyes and put one hand on your stomach and the other on your chest. This way, you will feel the movement of air better. Now – breathe in deeply and allow your stomach to inflate. Try to hold the air for a couple of seconds and then exhale slowly.

Do this exercise quietly five or six times without forcing yourself. If you feel the need to take a big breath, do so, and then resume the calm rhythmic breathing with the stomach.

The benefits of relaxation

When you are calm, your teeth become unclenched, your shoulders relax, and your overall tension gradually decreases. You relax your arms and become aware of their points of support. Also, you become aware of the support points of your back and feet.

Enjoy the pleasant feeling of being calm. Breathe in deeply and then begin to move your hands and feet, stretching… Open your eyes when you want.

An exercise you can do anywhere

The good news is that you can do this exercise anywhere at any time and in any posture, while sitting or standing, with eyes open or shut. The important thing here is to focus on your breathing in order to breathe with your stomach. In the context of prostate cancer treatment, this is crucial to lowering stress levels and helping you feel better about yourself.

See also The 10 most anti-stress foods

Take the time to visit each of our pages on this website, as well as our YouTube channel, in order to get familiar with the disease with our expert lectures, our section on available resources, the support that is offered to you.

Do you have any questions or concerns? Above all, do not hesitate. Contact us at 1 855 899-2873 to discuss with a nurse specializing in uro-oncology. It’s simple and free, like all our services.

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