Help with difficult thoughts

WELLBEING

Help with difficult thoughts

Published June 2021

Living with advanced prostate cancer will have created significant changes to your life and how you feel, both physically and emotionally. Often, alongside the clinical effects of your cancer you may also be experiencing a range of new, and sometimes completely contrasting, feelings; for example, you may find that you sometimes feel stressed or anxious, and then hopeless or completely numb. Or you may also be experiencing problems sleeping or doing things you enjoy.

Part of the journey

These feelings are very common in people going through cancer; it is completely normal that your feelings will change, sometimes daily or throughout any given day. Reasons for fluctuating emotions can include triggers, such as how you are feeling while you are receiving treatment, or if you are worried about an upcoming scan or other test, or a visit to see your oncologist.

In advanced prostate cancer in particular, some treatments can cause a range of fluctuating emotions due to the hormonal nature of the drugs prescribed. Patients receiving therapy for advanced prostate cancer often describe feeling particularly tired, emotional, sensitive or just unhappy.

A healthy acknowledgement

Regardless of what you are feeling and why, the most important thing that you can do for yourself is to acknowledge your feelings and try to find a method of coping that will help you feel better. A good starting point is to try to maintain a healthy lifestyle, by watching your diet and exercising. Exercise in particular has been shown to improve mental wellbeing.

Additional resources to help cope with, and even take control of, difficult feelings or thoughts include meditation and other forms of therapy, such as cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

Mindfulness

Mindfulness, a form of meditation, is recommended to help people living with prostate cancer by providing techniques and strategies to help you relax and better manage any emotional difficulties. Feelings and overall symptoms you can help address with mindfulness include pain, general wellbeing and overall beliefs and perceptions about your prostate cancer, such as fear, anxiety or hopelessness.

If you want to try mindfulness but don’t know where to start, why not try a simple breathing session.

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT)

CBT has been successfully used to support people going through chronic illness and some forms of CBT specialise in helping people cope with cancer and prostate cancer by using CBT techniques to reduce distress, treat anxiety and low mood, and help improve quality of life.

CBT is based on the idea that your thoughts, feelings and behaviours are all connected, and by learning to identify your unhelpful beliefs or negative thought patterns, you can help to influence more positive behaviours and improve how you feel. CBT techniques are generally based on the theory that people who are anxious or depressed unrealistically overestimate negative outcomes, which can lead to avoidance and other unhelpful coping behaviours. Using visual CBT techniques to replace dysfunctional, irrational thoughts with more constructive, healthy beliefs can help you overcome anxiety by using more adaptive thinking and creating healthier thought patterns.

If you are interested in exploring CBT, click here to access the Enzalutamide & me course to get started.

SOURCES:

Managing your emotions, Cancer Research UK. Available at:  https://www.cancerresearchuk.org/about-cancer/coping/emotionally/cancer-and-your-emotions/managing-your-emotions. Accessed October 2025.
Ways to deal with difficult thoughts. Headspace. Available at: https://headspace.org.au/blog/ways-to-deal-with-difficult-thoughts/. Accessed October 2025.
Your coping toolbox. Cancer Council Victoria. Available at: https://www.cancervic.org.au/living-with-cancer/emotions/your-coping-toolbox.html. Accessed October 2025.
Feelings and cancer. National Cancer Institute. Available at: https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/coping/feelings. Accessed October 2025.
Cancer and your emotions. Macmillan Cancer Support. Available at:  https://www.macmillan.org.uk/cancer-information-and-support/treatment/coping-with-treatment/cancer-and-your-emotions. Accessed October 2025.
Joseph, A. & Chapman, M. (2012). Visual CBT: Using Pictures to Help You Apply Cognitive Behavioural Therapy to Change Your Life. John Wiley & Sons.

Explore more articles...

ABOUT PROSTATE CANCER

Organisations that can help support you and your family

Find out more about what local, national and international charity and patient advocacy resources are available to you and your family.

WELLBEING

Psychological support for your wellbeing 

Learn about the benefits of mindfulness and visual CBT for people living with prostate cancer and treated with enzalutamide. 

WELLBEING