Part Two of The Emotional Side Effects of Cancer- Broken Identity

Adventures with Scars

How much thought do we give to protecting our true identity? Just as we would take time to purchase identity theft insurance, shred all personal documents or create unique and elaborate passwords for virtual interactions, we must develop rituals in life that preserve and protect our most authentic identity.
Identity is the set of expectations, strengths, and weaknesses that we possess. It also encompasses how our expectations and strengths relate to each other.
A pre-cancer identity is created in a state of innocence. It involves 25th anniversary trips to Hawaii, retirement plans that include cruises to Alaska and the weddings of our children. These life priorities are often set in the future, and our life is something we spend working toward such moments.
A post diagnosis identity is much more likely based on the present. It is no longer sufficient for life's great moments to be found in the distant future. We want to value today, the people we are with today, and how our life impacts the world today. Our perspective shifts to ensure we live our values in the present rather than experiencing some idealistic milestones in the future.
In this episode Lauren talks about identity and how going through cancer we often shift and can even lose our identity. She gives her experience and various pointers on how to establish a healthy identity, even going through cancer.
To find out more about Lauren's nonprofit Adventure Therapy go to www.adventurefound.org.
To visit Adventure Therapy's cancer coaching platform go to www.risefound.com
To visit Lauren's website go to www.laurenhuffmaster.com