How has MS affected you mentally?
I ask this question because someone maybe struggling mentally and don’t know how to deal with it.
For me when I’m stressed I have a hard time focusing and I begin to shutdown. I also find it hard to understand what someone is saying in the moment because I’m so stressed out
I find if I step away I’m able to pull myself together after awhile I just need people to stop talking to me.
I do not understand the question or how to answer you, I would like to nut....
Right now feeling defeated, heading into hospital tomorrow for 5 days of steroids and then hopefully inpatient rehab, looking forward to having some one help me. 25 minutes to out socks and shoes on is getting old.
I hope that your steroids work and you start to feel better quickly. Keep us all updated as to how you go on, blessings Jimeka 🦋
Feel better friend, 5 day steroids "super treatment" was so part of my life l should have owned my hospital bed; but the end result was feeling better! Prayers always and hurry back to us when you're rested.
NeeC
Yeah, I'm always getting told by my Genius hub/caregiver, that I'm mildly retarded😪😕 I actually hate that!😡 My mind isn't what it used be... I fergit alot of recent memories / like short term is goin out!😛😝😜pppttthhh! Yuck! That's why I do mem. Games & my color book!👍😀😃😄That makes me happy! I know I truly need him, but, I don't think I'll be happy again w/him!!😡😛😝😜😕😪😭😥 I have no where else to go!😃😀So, i'll just perma-fake-grin & bare/bear it thru! Sometimes! I can't wait to DIE!! Can't self-Terminate, but Will be looking fwd. To the day!!👍😃😄😀🎁🐾🙏💐💝🌷🌸I patiently await that day sometimes!!! Just Keep Truckin🚚🚛On, but sometimes, my Tired is Tired 😴😴😴zzzzz & my pain is inn ma'💔💔--Jazzy
I will be married 48 years in November and I can’t tell you the number of times my hubby irritates me. But like you say I have no where else to go. But being alone is better than death. Do you have grandchildren? I do and am hoping I am still around to go to their high school graduation. (I have twins) Anyway we just have to keep on trucking❣️😀❤️
Hi BigMar7 . I’ll be married 48 years on November 6. How we made it this long I’ll never know. I know we’ve both put each other thru a lot but somehow we’ve made it.😁😀😋
Donnie
For me, it’s the unknown.
Being s planner, this is my nemesis.
Can’t predict,know, plan for.
I was always the one giving ...time or resources.
Then, breast cancer. Early & might come back.
Now, MS. Don’t know.
Drag my leg.
Thankful for Copaxone because I’m not exhausted.
Thankful for L-Theanine because I think it ridded me of brain fog.
Thankful for CBD because spasms have kept me in pain for several years ‘ have relief.
But most of all thankful that I am a teacher, not big bucks, but I can kind of afford CBD, L-theanine, and acupuncture which makes me feel human.
So, long answer: my lesson is to care for myself.
Sometimes I feel that way but thankfully not that often. I think I am losing my short term memory but like to blame that on old age! 😀❤️
I do know what you mean, you just want them to stop and say if you don’t know the truth about MS you or should I say they should say nothing at all. I have had even my mother in law years ago this one time I had a kidney stone and it needed to be zapped for lack of forgetting the name. My brother in law her said I get put in a pool of water and I told her that is not going what happeneds, and she said no and that I didn’t know what I was talking about. You know how frustrating that is when someone does that. Then another time when she say someone had MS and she has know probable walking and she said see can walk like that. Then I think she got it one time when she saw her son my husband had to pick me up and put me on a chair. It truly is sad when people think that you don’t look sick you must be faking. That’s all I need to say because we all know what this monster of a diseases all about
Sandra ssdw1958
This one is also related to my fatigue level. 2 years who I was not the same quality of nurse anymore and it was like I was running on half a brain and surprised at the things I missed. I had a hard time with conversation and I’m still afraid to drink much at social events for fear of becoming a rambling idiot, but otherwise I’m back to being clever and can think critically. I hope it lasts! I dealt with it by, broken record here, ketosis.
THIS question was on my brain yesterday! I was thinking that, whenever my routine is disrupted I/brain get SO confused the next day. Is this Alzheimers (my Mother and her Mother both had it) or is this another fun side affect of MS? My brother was in town and I met him after work on Friday for an hour at his hotel which I had never been to previously, and it was fine - arrived, had no issues, no long walks were taken and even had a drink (first in 8 months) and made it home by 8:30 PM. Took him to the airport Saturday morning, and slept the rest of the day Saturday AND Sunday - WHAT causes that?!
I feel like it was my brain complaining g that it doesn't like it's routine disrupted and was going to ask the group if anyone had seen a Psychologist or Psychiatrist that helped them figure out things or yes, it is MS and is normal..
I think there's a big difference between dealing with MS mentally and emotionally (stressed) . rjoneslaw
To deal with it mentally, you have to try to come to terms with the unknown. That this monster they call MS is always changing. Just like you.
The stress, anxiety falls on the forgetting that this monster is always changing. The fear of the unknown.
Like you tho, I will shut down in half a heartbeat, until I can come to terms with it. No doubt about it! 🤗💕
J🌠
Jesmcd2 and rjoneslaw Jes has drawn a good distinction between mental and emotional attitudes. There are times in life when I realize my challenges and feel overwhelmed and fearful of what lies ahead. I would label these as emotional/psychological realizations. Very recently, I experienced a few of these moments. I have always been able to pull myself together, breathe deeply and go forward.
At other times in the past, I suffered from deep depressions; these were enduring and enervating periods which caused me to seek professional help from therapists to pull myself back from the brink.
Now, with age and MS I find my brain's processing center easily overwhelmed by too much input, coming too rapidly. Examples: trying to follow a conversation in a noisy setting, heavy freeway traffic, television or radio on when I talk on the phone. In these situations I know my blood pressure rises, my ability to think clearly disappears, and I become unable to function as I do at other times. I recover by seeking a place where I can pause, withdraw momentarily, breathe deeply, and then continue. Is this physiological, psychological, emotional? Is this MS or an aging brain? I don't know and don't worry about it. It is present, I am aware of it, I have multiple strategies to deal with it, and most of the time I probably function almost as well as I ever could.
Mentally I do pretty well 👍. I just need to stay positive in my life and not let others problems be mine..... I try to keep my mind active but my body doesn’t always cooperate with it 😖. I have turned things over the the Lord and that way I don’t worry as much. As for death my time will come, I just wish it will be quick and painless 🙏. It is great that we can all vent, but we need to remember that it’s not healthy to stay on the pity pot👍. Wish everyone a great week 🙏🐾😉 Ken 🎃👻
rjoneslaw do not ever give up, or never give in. Rest if you must, but you need to get right back in. That’s my attitude. Let everyone know that although it appears that you’re overwhelmed at the moment, you need a little time out. You should let them know how to recognize the signs, and how to assist you. I hope that this makes sense. 
Keep Smiling and Stay Strong,
Carole
I understand exactly what you're saying. Having people repeat new
information a few times is the worst!
Leslie
I know what you're talking about. it took me a long time to realize that I needed to control my own input. sometimes shutting down for a short period, sometimes saying stop, sometimes just getting the info slower. but it was a real plus once I realized that I was the one to control that
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