Glossary

A therapy that helps you make room for difficult feelings instead of fighting them, while taking action toward what matters to you.

A skill of stepping back from a thought so it feels less like a fact. E.g. 'I'm having the thought that…'.

A habitual thinking error like all-or-nothing thinking, catastrophizing or mind-reading.

The worry that cancer will return or progress. Common, normal, and treatable when it interferes with life (Simard, 2013; Lebel, 2016).

Breitbart's framework helping people facing cancer reconnect with sources of meaning — love, work, history, attitudes (Breitbart et al., 2015).

A 9-item self-report depression screener used clinically and in research.

A 7-item self-report screener for generalized anxiety.

Cohen's 10-item Perceived Stress Scale.

The branch of psychology that studies and treats the emotional, social and behavioural sides of cancer.

Physical, emotional and mental exhaustion from sustained caregiving. Signals: numbness, resentment, somatic symptoms.

Chosen life directions — not goals — that give actions meaning (e.g. 'being honest', 'being a present parent').

Treating yourself with the kindness you'd offer a friend in the same situation (Neff, 2003).

The zone of arousal where you can think and feel without becoming overwhelmed or shut down (Siegel, 1999).

Using guided reading as part of psychological support.