Mental Health and Emotions

Some medicines are known to have an impact on emotional regulation and mood. These can include corticosteroids, such as dexamethasone or prednisolone that are often given along with chemotherapy. Emotional effects from these medications can start soon after taking them, and last for several days after you stop taking them. 

It is thought this side-effect is caused by the corticosteroid interfering with a naturally occurring chemical called serotonin. Serotonin is produced in our brains and is considered a “feel good” chemical that helps us to feel happy or content.

You may only notice small changes in your emotions or “patience”. However, if your mood changes a lot, or you become very sad, have feelings of hopelessness, get angrier much easier than usual or find the effects unbearable, TALK TO YOUR DOCTOR. 

Your haematologist or oncologist who prescribed the corticosteroid for you need to know about these changes. There are other options, and they may just need to swap the medication to a different one to improve your symptoms, while still making sure you get the best outcomes for your treatment.

Many other medicines you may take can also impact your mood. Although they may not be part of your treatment protocol, you may be on them to manage other conditions or side-effects of treatments. If you are taking any of the below medicines and have concerns about your mental health or emotions, talk to your doctor about it.

Proton pump inhibitors

These are given to protect your tummy or if you get a lot of heartburn or indigestion. They help by reducing the acid in your stomach. Common proton pump inhibitors are pantoprazole (Somac), omeprazole (Losec) and esomeprazole (Nexium).

Anticonvulsants

These medications can also be used to help with nerve related pain and peripheral neuropathy. Common anticonvulsants used for these conditions include gabapentin (Neurontin) and pregabalin (Lyrica).

Statins 

Statins are medicines given to lower the cholesterol in your blood. Common statins include atorvastatin (Lipitor), rosuvastatin (Crestor).

Benzodiazepines

These medications are often prescribed to help with short-term anxiety or short-term insomnia. They can be addictive and also have effects on your mood. Common benzodiazepines include diazepam (Valium) temazapam (Temaze or Restoril) and alprazolam (Xanax).

Polypharmacy

Polypharmacy is a term used when you are taking several different medicines, which is common during and after treatment for lymphoma, and in older people. The more medicines you take, the higher the chance of them having an interaction with each other, increasing or decreasing the effects of each medicine. If you are taking more than 5 different medicines ask your doctor to review them. You can also ask you pharmacist for advice on polypharmacy. 

In some cases, there may be 1 medicine that can work in different ways that could replace 2 different types of medicines.

Pain makes everything else in life harder to deal with, and the pain itself can be distressing. Long-term or severe pain is a common cause of a depressed mood and changes in mood.

If you have pain it is important to know the cause and get the right treatment or support needed to manage it. There are different types of pain, and the pain killers (medicine) you have used in the past may not work for the type of pain you have now.

Report all severe or ongoing pain to your doctor so they can assess you to see what is causing your pain and give you the right information to improve it.

Fatigue can impact every area of your life, and your mental health and emotions can suffer when you are fatigued or unable to get a night’s sleep. Further down the page we have a video with some tips on managing fatigue, and improving your quality of sleep.

Unfortunately, some people may experience traumatic medical events. These may relate to severe reactions to medicines, life-threatening infections, multiple attempts to get a cannula in, or the diagnosis of lymphoma itself may be traumatic for some people. You may even have befriended people in hospital who may have lost their life to lymphoma or another cancer.

All these things can impact your mental health and can make it even harder to go to your appointments for checkups or treatment. In rare cases, some people have even been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder because of their experiences with their cancer diagnosis and treatments.

If you are struggling with the memories of past experiences in hospital, or related to your lymphoma, it is very important that you speak to your doctor about it. There are treatments available than can lessen the impact these memories have on your quality of life, and help you to remember them without the intense emotional fear that can sometimes be associated with traumatic memories.

A diagnosis of lymphoma and its treatments is likely to have a profound effect on different relationships you have. Your role in your family, social groups, school, or at work may change and these changes can have an impact on your mental health.

At home

Whether you have always been the provider of finances or emotional support, the one that keeps the house tidy and clean, the carer, the person that runs people around to different social engagements or the “life of the party” you may notice changes.

You may no longer have the energy to keep up your usual routine, or you may be experiencing symptoms or side-effects that affect your ability to maintain that routine. This means other people in your life may also need to change their role in order to support you more while you concentrate on treatment and healing.

Some of you may find this difficult, and you may experience different feelings such as sadness, guilt, anger, fear or embarrassment. Try to remember that everyone needs help sometimes, and your lymphoma diagnosis is NOT YOUR FAULT. You did not do anything to bring this illness on yourself. Lymphoma is not a cancer that is caused by your life choices. 

Are you the parent of a child with lymphoma?

CANTEEN

REDKITE

Mummy’s Wish

For more information on childhood and adolescent lymphoma and more support services available please click here.

Work or Study

It’s up to you how much information you give your teachers, boss, Human Resources (HR) department and workmates about your lymphoma and treatments. You have a right to confidentiality that must be respected.

However, if you need to start treatment or you become unwell, you may need time off school or work, or you may need changes to your usual workspace or routine. To understand what changes, you may need to your work life, your boss or HR department will need some information, including a medical certificate outlining what you can and cannot do.

To learn more about how to manage work or study and lymphoma click here.

Social groups

Your social groups may include sporting, church, community or friendship groups, all of which may be affected by your lymphoma. Or your role or ability to participate in these groups may change for a while. However, these groups can also be a great source of support for you too if you let them know what you need.

Many people choose not to share what they are going through, but when you let people know what you need, they are better able to support you in the way you need them to. 

To learn more about how to maintain romantic and other relationships when you have lymphoma click here.

Finding you out have cancer can be scary, and for some people even traumatic. Not knowing how the lymphoma will affect your life, whether it is curable or not, or living with the fear of a relapse can be a burden that affects your ability to enjoy life the way you use to. 

It is normal to have some fear. But, getting the right information and asking the right questions can help you sort through the fear of the unknown and give you direction on how to move forward.

If fear is stopping you from enjoying life, or is becoming your main focus of thought, talk to your doctor or nurse so they can help you get the support you need to work through and manage the fear. 

You may find that the expectation of others does not match your own expectations, or abilities. For some people, the people around you may want to protect you from anything and everything and leave you feeling like you need room to breathe, and learn your new limits. 

While others may look at you and think you look well, so you must be well. Then expect you to carry on like everything is normal.

It is really hard for people to know what you need, and as much as we wish they could sometimes, they will never truly understand how you feel and what you are going through…..unless you communicate openly and honestly with them.

Let people know what you need! 

Tell them if you feel they are protecting you too much or expecting too much from you. 

Let them know if you are having symptoms or side-effects that are affecting you. Don’t always say you are doing ok when you are asked how you are. If you say you are ok, how can you expect them to know you are not?

Ask for help when you need it.

Share the symptoms of lymphoma and side-effect pages with your loved so they know what to expect to.

When lymphoma is in your brain, or there is a high chance it will spread there you may have treatments that may cause some changes in your mood and how you regulate your emotions. The lymphoma itself, if it is in your brain can also impact your mental health and emotions.

Report all changes in your mental health and emotions to your haematologist, oncologist or radiation oncologist so they can assess if your lymphoma or treatments may be the cause.

Finishing treatment is a time of many emotions, you may feel relieved, triumphant, scared and uncertain of what happens next.

See our finishing treatment page for information on what to expect and support available once treatment ends.