Anxious

ANXIOUS

People feel anxious when they are worried or scared, often about things that are unknown to them. You may be scared about what is happening to your parent, about how all this will affect your lives, or about you or someone else in the family might also become ill. How anxious you feel will probably change at different times - one day it's like a big lump in your tummy all the time, but the next day you might feel much more relaxed. Explore the words in the clouds and see if any describes the way you feel.

SCARED

"Will my parent die?"

You know that cancer is a serious illness and you are terrified that your parent will die. It's so hard watching your parent go through hard treatments and even worse if they suffer pain or other troublesome symptoms. But most of all - what will tomorrow bring?

NERVOUS

"I feel jumpy all the time"

Nerves can sometimes make the smallest thing feel too big to cope with and you suddenly feel anxious about all sorts of things, even things that have never bothered you before. You might feel nervous about being alone in the house or going out and leaving your parent at home alone.

APPREHENSIVE

"What's going to happen next?"

When one bad thing happens it's often natural to think that more bad will come your way. There is no logic to this line of thinking and it will only make you feel anxious and frightened all the time. So don't increase your anxiety by imagining things that may never happen, but try to enjoy all the good things in your life.

WORRIED

"Everything could change in a second"

It is hard not knowing what's around the corner and it is really difficult to make any plans for things you want to do. You may find it very hard to concentrate and even when you are not actually thinking about it, it's always there ate the back of your mind, reminding you that life is not as it was before.

TENSE

"Sometimes I can hardly breathe"

There will be times - like when you are waiting for major things to happen, maybe for news about test results - when you are obviously going to feel tense. Tempers may fray, people may argue over silly things and you might feel like crying over a small misunderstanding. This is normal when people are feeling very anxious.

CONCERNED

"I'm sure it means something is wrong"

Finding out a parent has cancer is a big shock and it can make you worry about other things that aren't dangerous. You may be concerned about something your parent does or doesn't do or you may be worried about things going on in your own body. It is very common that you may also feel aches and pain when someone you love has cancer.

DREAD

"I can't bear the thought of it"

Life can feel very cruel sometimes. You are dreading it all - waking up in the mornings to the same worries, going to sleep with the same worries, dreading coming home from school, dreading for the treatment to start and for difficult visits to the hospital.

TIPS ON COPING