Fighting a challenge like melanoma can be very difficult and cause a significant amount of stress. Unfortunately, as you have probably heard, stress doesn’t help your fight. In fact, too much stress can sometimes have a negative impact. Hence, managing your stress level is an important part of what you can do to help. The good news is that there are many well tested methods for stress management that work. Not all of them will work well for all people, but the important part is to try a number of them until you find the right ones for you.
We manage stress successfully when we learn to control our responses and avoid overreaction. Hence, stress management is a skill, like riding a bike, and once you learn the techniques, they will stay will with you forever. Keep in mind, however, that learning the techniques usually requires regular practice – once a week is not enough for most people in the beginning. Once a day is more appropriate if you want to see dramatic improvement in your skills2.
