Psychological repercussions in post-treatment cancer patients

This article explores the various symptoms characteristic of post-traumatic depression in cancer patients following treatment. Patients in this depressive state initially describe feelings of a loss of purpose and meaning to life as well as a loss of the ability to experience happiness and self-confidence. Feelings associated with a guilty conscience and with a sense of isolation are sometimes evoked at a later stage. This article allows a distinction to be made between post-traumatic depression and difficulties associated with chronic depression. The unconscious mechanisms underpinning these depressive symptoms are subsequently explored from a dynamic perspective. These mechanisms correspond to the subject's efforts following treatment to suppress the violent and anxiety-producing emotions that were previously repressed. In a third section, the article explores how the repercussions of cancer on the family and socio-professional environments act to reinforce the patient's feelings of isolation and failure to be understood. Raising a patient's awareness of the painful psychological repercussions that can occur when treatment is complete acts as a preventive measure. In conclusion, the article explores therapeutic methods that are effective in treating post-treatment depression in cancer patients.