Adaptive and maladaptive emotions in patients with cancer: A network perspective

Background

Receiving a cancer diagnosis frequently evokes a wide range of emotions. Emotions may help to cope with cancer: these are adaptive emotions. When emotions become disproportionate to the situation or interfere with functioning, emotions are maladaptive. According to the network theory of mental disorders, symptoms are reciprocally associated with each other; if there are strong connections between symptoms, the symptom network remains activated. A strongly connected network indicates maladaptive emotions.