Cancer toolbox – 1. YOU app

This is the first of an occasional series, in which I share some of the things that have helped me remain active, sane, positive and cheerful over the last few years. I mean, it’s pretty crap having metastatic cancer – I’m not gonna lie – but most of the time I don’t think about it too much.

I probably actively avoid thinking about it. I trundle along, and with each bit of progression I have a bit of a jolt, do some time processing, and then put it all back in the box on the shelf. Is that a healthy way to deal with things? I’m not sure. I know I could paralyse myself with this, and that there have been some pretty dark and difficult times, and as a coping mechanism this seems to work for me.

That means these ideas are not just for people experiencing cancer. I think they’d be helpful for anyone with a long term illness, with a life that’s throwing crap at them, with a need to take a little care of themselves.

This is going to be an occasional series. Things pop up, I get enthused, and want to share them; or I realise that something I’ve been doing for a while is actually really helpful for me, and want to share that. It will be erratic and irregular.

This is the first one, then. The YOU-app. I’ve been using this for a while now –  a few  years, in fact. I might have read about it in an in-flight magazine – I really can’t remember now. It’s a lovely idea, put out by a group of young and beautiful Scandinavians – but don’t let that put you off.

At its most basic, it offers you a small action each day – a physical activity, something mindful or heartfelt – that will make your day a tiny bit better. You can record the action, and if you particularly like it, you can choose to make it a regular part of the day. If there’s something you want to work on, there are additional packs – some free, some for a nominal sum.

It’s a great combination of action and reflection, and I’ve found it surprisingly simple for something so apparently simple.

Oh- and you can build up a community there by following and being followed. If you decide to download it, let me know, and I’ll follow you – if you want. Have a look at it anyway, see what you think.