‘Scandal’ Star Kerry Washington, 46, Says She Had Terrorizing Panic Attacks Growing Up That Impacted Her Mental Health – How Genetic Testing Can Help You Manage Your Mental Health

“Sometimes the entire ‘fight’ would consist of my mother slamming a door to signal that she was done. But sometimes the yelling carried on,” Washington wrote in her book “Thicker Than Water,” according to the Los Angeles Times.

Washington says her parents’ arguing and verbal spats gave her anxiety.

“It was the sound of terror, wholly unnatural and unconnected to the rhythms of my heart. I was dizzied with terror; no ground beneath me; it was crazy-making, endless. And sad. There was something so sad about the rhythm. And I couldn’t make it stop. I couldn’t sleep. It was as though the alarms within me had been triggered, and there was no turning them off,” Washington said.

Washington says her mental health journey emphasizes the importance of self-care and having inner strength. She manages stressful situations today by staying positive, grounded, and seeking help when necessary.

 

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“My brain and my heart are really important to me. I don’t know why I wouldn’t seek help to have those things be as healthy as my teeth,” Washington said to the Columbus Urban League.

Managing Mental Health Amid Cancer

It’s incredibly valuable when high-profile figures like Washington draw attention to the importance of mental health. It affects how we think, feel, and behave. Certain triggers like stress, traumatic events, or changes in your physical health can affect your mental health.

For cancer patients, a diagnosis undoubtedly impacts their mental health. If you are diagnosed with cancer or other chronic disease, you should be mindful of your mental health because it can affect your overall prognosis.

RELATED: Psychologist Dr. Samantha Board discusses managing mental health long-term.

“For long-term mental health and living with cancer, flexibility is really at the core of how to manage long-term mental health,” says New York-based psychologist Dr. Samantha Boardman.

Dr. Boardman suggests asking yourself questions about how you deal with stressful situations to see if they’re working or need adjusting.

“Are your coping strategies in the way that you’re using them now? Are they as effective as they were in the past? Take a look at your beliefs. Do you have any fixed beliefs that are counterproductive and are impeding you from taking positive steps?” Dr. Boardman said.

To keep your mental health in check, it’s important to be aware of signs that can be subtle that something is affecting your mind. These signs include:

• A change in eating or sleeping habits
• Losing interest in people or usual activities
• Experiencing little or no energy
• Numb and/or hopeless feelings
• Turning to drink or drugs more than usual
• Non-typical angry, upset, or on-edge feelings
• Yelling/fighting with loved ones
• Experiencing mood swings
• Intrusive thoughts
• Trouble getting through daily tasks

If you struggle in any of these areas, talk to your doctor or a mental health professional to begin your emotional journey alongside your other cancer treatment.

“Depression and stress make it harder to treat cancer [and] make it harder to tolerate the treatments,” Dr. Scott Irwin, director of supportive care services at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, previously told SurvivorNet.

“There’s data that if you have extra stress or depression that you may not recover or you have a higher risk of recurrence, so in treating the depression, we’re actually impacting the cancer care outcomes,” Dr. Irwin added.

The Connection Between Your Mental Health and Your DNA?

Genetic testing has been shown to be successful in matching patients with the right medication to offset bouts of anxiety or depression.

WATCH: Understanding genetic testing and its connection to mental health.

“This test covers all of the psych medications, essentially, and it also covers pain medications. It’s such a great test,” Dr. Lori Plutchik, licensed psychiatrist, previously told SurvivorNet.

“Depression affects about 20% of women at some point in their life and about 10% of men at some point in their life. That’s a very prevalent illness, and then when you’re working in the cancer population, which I’ve worked in extensively over the years, depression can be up to 50% in patients who are having impairments in their life due to their illness,” Dr. Plutchik continued.

The Genomind test Dr. Plutchik uses looks for multiple factors before determining the medication with successful results and minimal side effects.

To do this, there are two parts to the test. First, the doctor will test for certain genes associated with responses to a medication commonly prescribed for mental health issues. Secondly, the patient’s ability to metabolize medication will be tested. Doing this reduces the chance of negative side effects and allows patients to respond well to medication on the first try.

“About 95% of the time, the first medication that I choose for them ends up being the right medication,” Dr. Plutchik explains.

How to Maintain Good Mental Health

Psychologist Dr. Marianna Strongin shared some simple tips to help maintain good mental health and healthily reduce stress.

When dealing with anxiety, Dr. Strongin said it’s important to have a healthy relationship with these feelings and get to know them rather than fear them, avoid them, or push them away.

“By learning more about your anxious thoughts and tendencies, one can begin to answer their anxious thoughts even in moments when there aren’t any answers. For cancer patients, the worried thoughts tend to be, “Will I survive?” It’s important to let those thoughts come in and be able to tolerate them before answering them. This is a very powerful coping skill,” Dr. Strongin explained.

Questions to Ask Your Doctor

If you find yourself struggling with a diagnosis or helping a loved one cope with their emotions, consider asking your doctor the following questions:

• How can I go about improving my outlook/mental health?
• Are there any activities I can do to encourage positive feelings?
• When should I seek other interventions if I’m still struggling?
• What are the steps to finding a different therapist if the one I’m using is not working out?

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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