Vitality is having physical and mental energy. It is a core construct of our health and well-being that encompasses self-care, self-awareness and self-compassion.
The word vitality itself is derived from vita or ‘life’. It is the fuel for everyday living.
When we are ‘vital’, we experience a sense of enthusiasm, aliveness, vigour and positive energy. It’s when we display our spark and our mojo is all present and correct strutting its stuff. It’s the va-va-voom factor.
These are our ‘vital signs’ and differ to the clinical measurements medical professionals use.
The problem is, cancer can rob us of our ‘vitalness’ and it can be damn hard to get that back.
But we can get our zip, zing, zest and zeal back albeit with a tremendous amount of hard work.
Cancer and cancer treatments are incredibly draining on so many levels that they can leave us feeling wiped out. Fatigue replaces our vitality and we become a shadow of our former selves.
Treatment regimes are harsh and they can subtract our fizz and sparkle like nothing else leaving us feeling flat, empty and uninspired.
There comes a point within a treatment cycle where you feel like you can’t go on.
But you do.
You do because you have a reserve tank of willpower that holds a few bubbles of rebellion and anarchy that are ready to pop to life. These are your vital signs and indicate that your spirit hasn’t been sucked dry and your life force has not deserted you.
Cancer focuses you on the here and now.
You realise that your vitality has never been more vital so you start to fight for it. Those are bubbles of fortitude and resilience.
Cancer is a huge battle of wits and is pure psychological warfare. You might think that having incurable cancer stops you from being vital and flourishing.
In fact, it doesn’t. It powers vitality and the will to live. It puts the boom in bloom.
Under immunotherapy treatment, I have found that the cancer experience has actually given me the capacity to pursue life with a renewed sense of health, strength and energy.
Vitality in the ‘cancery’ sense of the word is about the feeling of aliveness and living life to the fullest and finding pep, pulse and punch in every situation.
And where exactly do we find the mind, body and soul nourishment to feed our vitality?
On a personal level, being outdoors and in nature have a vitalising effect on my whole being. That bit of fresh air is sometimes all it takes for me to start feeling that spark again.
For me appreciating the small moments, seeing the beauty in life, and cultivating hope are powerful ways I reduce stress and improve my well-being.
If you feel like giving up because it all gets too much then remember this, you are vital and your vitality is part of your inner fabric.
Cancer might damage our physical vitality but it cannot steal our emotional vitality unless we allow it.
Find what feeds you and keep piling it in.