Mental Health

Being diagnosed with a lung disease or lung cancer can be overwhelming. You may feel that life is now different – the world has somehow changed – and you may experience feelings of confusion, isolation and distress. These feelings are normal for people living with a lung disease or lung cancer. It is important to consider not only your physical health, but also your mental health.

For people living with lung disease or lung cancer, mental health and emotional wellbeing are important aspects of managing your condition, as research has shown that mental health can have a significant impact on physical health. It can be easy to neglect your mental health when faced with the physical challenges of a lung condition, however, the two should not be thought of separately.

The topic of mental health is commonly misunderstood and often trivialised. Most people tend to mistake mental health for mental health conditions – which are conditions that affect mood, thinking and behaviour, such as depression and anxiety conditions. However, mental health actually refers to being cognitively, emotionally and socially healthy.

It is important to have regular discussions with your treating healthcare team or GP about your mental health and emotional wellbeing, including steps you can take to proactively care for and manage your mental health.

Mindfulness and self-compassion guided practices

Our Mind Matters video series can help across all areas of life, increasing your ability to be present, flexible in your response to life’s joys and challenges and may help to reduce feelings of anxiety and heightened emotional states. The series is best used in the order presented as each session builds on the one before. Rather than do it all at once, take 10 minutes once a day or once a week.

View series