24 Tricks to Kick the
Fear of Relapse
How do you soothe the fear or relapse, when you can’t erase the vivid memory of your
health history?
You’ve been through hell and back. You’ve Googled the shit out of your diagnosis, and
you know what it’s like to fall down the darkest of internet black holes. Even though your
health is stable again, you’re acutely aware of every clinical outcome you might face in
the future should you relapse.
You’ve done so much research in the past, you can’t even go to Amazon without them
reminding you with the books they think might interest you; “The Autoimmune Paleo
Cookbook”, “The Wahls Protocol”, “Foods That Fight Cancer”...
Holy shit!
The overwhelm hits you and your chest tightens, as if you’ve just had the wind knocked
out of you. You’re petrified of what your body could possibly do next to betray you.
“Worry does not empty tomorrow of its troubles. It empties today of its strength.”
- Corrie Ten Boom
Push away the panic, by filling your mind with your passions
Let’s get this straight, I’m not advocating naivety. It’s important to the know the risks of
relapse, to know the signs and symptoms, and to have your eyes wide open. My wish for
you is to learn how to live your life TODAY, despite your health history. Here are the tactics
I developed to do just that:
1. Don’t just distract yourself, find what you’re passionate about and genuinely lose
yourself in it.
2. Build a strong support network of people who treat you as YOU, and not an illness.
www.sarahramsden.com
24 Tricks to Kick the Fear of Relapse
3. Choose something to remind you of your inner strength. It could be a necklace,
a quote, or an image on your desktop, but call on it when you need it.
4. Journal about your fears, and whether they truly match the risks.
5. Create an affirmation to repeat when doubt creeps in. Make sure you use your own
words, and not just something you find online. Mine have always included a lot of
F-bombs for emphasis!
6. Have a “take control of my own health” attitude, rather than just being a passive
bystander to your doctor. Do everything YOU can to stay healthy, so you’ll always
know you’ve done your best, leaving you nothing to regret.
7. Commit to a self care routine, and put it at the top of your to-do list.
8. Get enough sleep, because when you’re exhausted it not only negatively affects your
health, but you’re more likely to be drawn back into the fear.
9. Immerse yourself in being the beginner in something, and find joy in making
mistakes.
10. There’s a time and a place for Google, and you know when enough is enough.
Stop the Googling!
11. Remove yourself from Facebook groups, and unsubscribe from emails that fuel your
vivid imagination.
12. Remember that illness is not your identity. Enjoy meeting new people who don’t
know anything about your health history, and tell them everything else about
yourself, but that.
13. Never claim the disease as yours by saying things like “My MS…”, “My hashimotos…”,
or “My cancer…”. You may have experienced an illness, but instead of describing it as
“mine”, use “it”. This means you can disassociate from it, making it something that’s
unwelcome, and not coming back.
14. Trust in the process, make plans, and be flexible. Things can always be rescheduled,
but there’s nothing worse than having nothing to look forward to.
www.sarahramsden.com
24 Tricks to Kick the Fear of Relapse
15. Practice meditation to help manage stress levels, and stay grounded in the present
moment.
16. Find gratitude for what you have TODAY. It can be as simple as thinking of one thing
you’re grateful for before you go to sleep each night. There’s always something.
17. Define your purpose in life and go after it. Illness is NOT your purpose, and don’t you
ever forget it.
18. Think about the incredible gifts illness has brought to you (I talk about 5 of them over
here), and use them daily.
19. Stay away from unnecessary exposure to medical-like environments as much as
possible. Arrive bang on time for appointments (never early), and take music and
headphones to drown out the noise, as well as a good book or magazine to immerse
yourself in.
20. Remember no matter what you’re feeling, “This too shall pass”.
21. Remind yourself that your past does NOT dictate your future.
22. Make steps to do exactly what you want to do, without wasting time on what you
“should” do.
23. Don’t suppress the fear when it hits, have a friend on speed dial and talk it out.
24. Sometimes you will honest to god, feel bad about everything. You will want to grieve
the life you’ve lost, and be sad, angry, and confused. Remember that feeling ALL
your emotions is healthy. If you find yourself in this spot, set a timer for 5 minutes, 15
minutes, or 30 minutes, and let yourself feel what you need to feel. When that alarm
goes off, get back into solution-oriented mode, healing, gratitude, and living your life.
Living in the moment, it’s the only thing any of us have. You can’t predict the future,
and you can’t change the past, but you can change how you live RIGHT NOW. All too
often it’s not relapse itself that holds you back, but the fear of it that grips you so
tightly you waste your life.
www.sarahramsden.com
24 Tricks to Kick the Fear of Relapse
I’m Sarah,
your personal coach
I work with courageous people like you, who’ve taken charge of their well being, and
recovered from health issues. Maybe it was depression, cancer, or an autoimmune
disease, but whatever the diagnosis, you’ve won!
The only problem is, as good as it is to feel better, your life didn’t just go back to the way
it used to be. You didn’t expect as many things about you as a person would change, and
that’s where you feel stuck. You take less for granted, but you’d like to feel there’s more to
health than this.
If ANYONE deserves to feel such contentment in life, that even total strangers can see it
in your eyes, it’s most certainly YOU. Together we slow down, listen, and get to know the
person you’ve become.
Post-Recovery Coaching allows you to finally stop wondering if you’re making the best of
this second chance, and turn it into the most exciting and meaningful time of your life.
www.sarahramsden.com