Sarah Falk has received more than a few extremely scary cancer diagnoses in her life: the first one at only 17 years old (bone cancer) and the second at 40 years old (breast cancer). Naturally, she found herself asking, “Why Me”? But as you’ll hear, a better question to ask yourself is, “What now?”
Sarah is a mom to 4 boys, a mental health therapist, an author, and 4-time cancer survivor. She has taken her traumatic experiences and used them as a source of deep understanding of the challenges these diagnoses come with. Having specialized in anxiety, panic, and trauma, her work is particularly focused on a treatment called Accelerated Resolution Therapy.
Today, Sarah shares her best tips on redefining life post-diagnosis, dealing with grief, healing your mind, and connecting with others. You’ll hear how she helps those facing similar challenges embrace their situation and find joy by choosing to see the miracles around us.
Key Takeaways with Sarah Falk
- The impact of caring and involved social workers
- Dealing with a difficult diagnosis as a teenager
- Redefining life post-diagnosis (adjusting to difficult life changes)
- Getting involved with the hospital community as an in-patient
- How to support someone who is in the hospital
- Shifting your mentality from “Why me?” to “What now?”
- Healing anxiety through mind, body, and spirit practices
- Sharing your journey to support and connect with others
- Explaining your diagnosis to your children
- Learning to pause when possible (breathing & journaling)
Sarah Falk Tweetables
- “We often serve the person we are, it’s life at its healthiest. I believe that we are given life circumstances so we can take them, learn from them, and serve other people.” – Jamie Freedlund
- “Being angry took a lot of energy, and was very isolating. At one point I thought ‘I don’t want to spend my energy like this. If this is happening, it is what it is, what now?’” – Sarah Falk
- “Asking ‘What Now?’ led me on this healing journey of understanding that anxiety really is a mind, body, and spirit issue. So the healing must come through mind, body, and spirit practices.” – Sarah Falk
- “It was urgent, but it wasn’t an emergency. Taking that pause and just breathing, not allowing anyone to talk me into rushing into a decision, was important. If you have the luxury of being able to take a pause, stop and consider.” – Sarah Falk
- “When you verbalize it or write it down (journal) it allows our body to process it differently. It’s so simple, yet so powerful.” – Jamie Freedlund
- “Finding joy in the journey is a choice. The miracles are always there, but we can choose to see them.” – Sarah Falk
Resources
- SarahFenlonFalk.com
- Follow Sarah Falk on Instagram | Facebook
- Anxious to Energized Podcast
- Finding Myself…Facing Cancer by Sarah Falk
- Anxiety Resources by Sarah Falk
- Cancer Resources by Sarah Falk
- reSourced Wellness: Accelerated Resolution Therapy
- What Is Accelerated Resolution Therapy (ART)?
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