Emotional Challenges
If a transplant can be physically challenging, it can be equally challenging to your emotions.
Many patients, in fact, find that the emotional stress is harder to deal with than the physical discomfort. You may feel isolated from normal life; you may feel helpless and not in control of your body.
Patients often resent their dependency on others and may react angrily in situations where they never did before. They may take out their anger on those people who are closest to them; people they believe are “safe” and will love them no matter what is said. Although this can be difficult for loved ones, it helps to understand that the patient is actually angry at the disease and the feeling of helplessness, not at the person towards whom the anger is directed.
Emotional challenges are a normal and expected part of the transplant experience. They are not a sign of weakness or a predictor of failure. They are a normal response to the difficulties inherent in a blood stem cell transplant.
Some patients will be surprised at the notion that they are incapable of coping with anxiety or stress on their own. If you are feeling anxious or depressed, ask to speak with a mental health professional who may to help you cope with these difficulties during treatment and recovery.
Don't be embarrassed to ask for help with your emotions. Needing or seeking help from a mental health expert during treatment is normal. It does not imply that you are falling apart or will need ongoing help after recovery.
Having a blood stem cell transplant is a long, difficult process. Support services are part of the process of undertaking and recovering from a transplant.
Peer Support
Some patients find relief in talking with others who have been through a transplant. There are online chat rooms, like BMT-Support, or electronic mailing lists for BMT patients, such as BMT-Talk, that can connect you with others who understand what you are going through.
BMT InfoNet's Caring Connections Program can put you in touch with a survivor who can provide you with emotional support. Over 800 people have volunteered to help transplant patients through this program.
Some disease-based organizations, like the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, the Lymphoma Research Foundation and the International Myeloma Foundation offer information about local support groups or have online discussion groups that may be helpful.
Ask your transplant social worker about other peer support programs in your area that may be helpfu.
Additional Resources
Our patient handbooks on transplantation have additional information, strategies and resources to help you understand and cope with the emotional challenges involved in a blood stem cell transplant.
Our webcast on Riding the Emotional Roller Coaster of Survival, presented by Dr. Karen Syrjala, also has tips on how to cope with anxiety, depression and sadness afer transplant.
Check with your transplant social worker for other resources that may be helpful to you.
