Most annoying platitude?

[dyin_myelin]

-Think positive (so much easier to say than asking how you're actually feeling or offering to do anything concrete to help)

-Is this your fault (did you: ever snort coke/use too much sunscreen/eat too much pizza)

-My friend (has MS/cured MS/knows someone with MS)

-God (has a plan/never gives you more than you can handle/is darkly cryptic and mysterious/will have you dancing in heaven)

-It's not MS (have you been checked for Lyme/it's psychosomatic/I read about lead poisoning causing lesions)

[KatieAgain]

I read an article the other day about platitudes and how inordinately unhelpful they are. Thing is we are all guilty of saying the verbose piffle that contributes more to a person's distress.

There was a great example of a Man who fell in the water and he could not swim. Would you say to that Man, "Hey Dude...think positive...you can do it! Or maybe, God has a plan...soon you will be dancing in heaven. Or maybe, hey buddy, if you would have learned how to swim when you were a kid, you would not find yourself in the position you are in now."

Or would you simply hold out your hand and silently help the man to shore?

All of us MSers have fallen out of the boat. Some of us can swim, some can't. Hold out your hand to those that can't swim because one day your going to need someone's hand too.

[hunterd]

I read an article the other day about platitudes and how inordinately unhelpful they are. Thing is we are all guilty of saying the verbose piffle that contributes more to a person's distress.

There was a great example of a Man who fell in the water and he could not swim. Would you say to that Man, "Hey Dude...think positive...you can do it! Or maybe, God has a plan...soon you will be dancing in heaven. Or maybe, hey buddy, if you would have learned how to swim when you were a kid, you would not find yourself in the position you are in now."

Or would you simply hold out your hand and silently help the man to shore?

All of us MSers have fallen out of the boat. Some of us can swim, some can't. Hold out your hand to those that can't swim because one day your going to need someone's hand too.

I LOVE THAT!!!!

[tommylee]

-Think positive (so much easier to say than asking how you're actually feeling or offering to do anything concrete to help)

-Is this your fault (did you: ever snort coke/use too much sunscreen/eat too much pizza)

-My friend (has MS/cured MS/knows someone with MS)

-God (has a plan/never gives you more than you can handle/is darkly cryptic and mysterious/will have you dancing in heaven)

-It's not MS (have you been checked for Lyme/it's psychosomatic/I read about lead poisoning causing lesions)

It is a lot easier to accept and live these simple ideas when you feel well.

[KellyTour]

Helpful words

Just this morning: "Are you sure it really is MS? It could be peri-menopause. I have a lot of the same symptoms."

Yep, my doctors have it all wrong! It's not MS, it's "PMS."

[Windwalker]

These platitudes bring me back to something tommylee said recently...who has the energy to educate all the people who would come at us with these platitudes.

I'm interested in educating the people I love and care about. It is their support I need and want. I felt that unless they truly understand the disease, and most importantly where I'm at with it, they could not give me the support I need.

I was well aware of the EDSS Chart...but had never actually read it. When I did it made an impression. Although it did not tell me anything I did'nt already know...it framed it in a way that I thought would make an impression on people and break through any misconceptions.

I am at 8.0, actually a bit past. 10 is death due to MS. 9.0 starts the bedridden state. When you put a frame around where I'm at and when it's over, it makes an impression. When you factor in how fast I have moved through the stages...it makes an impression.

I sent it out to someone very important to me. I followed it up with a phone call. It turns out this person is much more aware than I thought. Bottom line...whether they were or not, they are now. I can now be certain that when I talk to them, they know. There will be no annoying "platitudes". I will have the support from them I need.

The EDSS is my educational tool. It will save me a lot of words, therefore energy. It will go out to a few others.
Hopefully some can glean insight by what I'm saying here.

[misslux]

The EDSS really does help to put things into perspective to show people how serious MS really is.

I think your progression was probably faster than mine. I went from 0.0 to 6.0 probably in about two years of my first symptoms and still at about 6.0.

[lstrl]

Could you have fibromyalgia? I've gotten that one from multiple people.

The one that has bugged me the most is one of my friends more recently has kept saying to me over and over again how I'm on a healing journey. If that were true, then why do I keep developing more symptoms? If I were healing, then that means this would go away. Considering I'm stuck with it for life, I'm pretty sure there is no healing going on.

I've gotten to the point where I don't hardly tell anyone that I have MS anymore. It's much easier on me to let people think I'm normal, and then I also don't have to hear those annoying words.