Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Can My Mind Control My MS Symptoms?

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    Can My Mind Control My MS Symptoms?

    This piece is from Multiple Sclerosis News Today, and is written by Jessie Ace. As a personal note from me, I know people with MS are in vastly diverse situations in our levels of physical and environmental stress. This is one person's perspective, which I found interesting and possibly useful.


    Can My Mind Control My MS Symptoms? December 3, 2019

    Can your mind control your illness? You might think, “No, of course not, the illness will do what it’ll do. I have no control over that.”




    What if I told you that you might have more control over it than you think?



    When I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis six years ago, I went into total panic mode. For the first time, I felt that my body was out of my control.




    The left side of my body had stopped working. It was like someone had pressed an off switch that I didn’t know I had — and that was it. A few days later, my right hand became weak. The three years I’d taken to study illustration were suddenly pointless. I didn’t know who I was anymore. My life was always about drawing, and I didn’t know how to do anything else.


    I was in a super-stressed state all the time when I was newly diagnosed. I panicked about every tingle, every stab of pain, every flailing weak moment. Was this feeling a relapse? I didn’t know. I didn’t understand MS then.




    I realize now that this was probably all in my head. It felt worse because I was experiencing a heightened emotional response to what I was going through.



    Here’s the thing: I learned about something called psychosomatic pain, which stems from an emotional rather than a physical pain response. I was experiencing the emotional trauma of a new diagnosis that manifested in my body as physical pain, making everything seem much worse. That made sense. The stress that I felt was bringing on these symptoms; my learning about MS symptoms at the time further complicated the situation.

    So, how did I get out of this state?

    I realized that my response was part of the process of accepting my diagnosis and that it takes time to work through emotional trauma.




    Then I found that the key to managing my emotional stress was in my actions. I wasn’t in control of what the illness could do to my body, but I was in command of my mindset toward the illness.
    I realized that the way I was living was unhelpful. I was constantly telling myself and others, “Ah, I can’t do that, I have MS now.” My attitude was not benefiting me; instead, it was giving the disease power over me.





    After reading “The Miracle Morning” by Hal Elrod, I realized that I needed to change my narrative. I began to practice daily meditation, mindfulness, journaling, and gratitude, and over time, this helped to change my outlook on life. I have been relapse-free for five years and have minimal daily symptoms.
    All the best, ~G

    #2
    Our brains may somewhat fried from lesion damage, but I imagine they are still pretty powerful. I really think there is some merit to this theory. I have heard of imagery being used by cancer patients, including my own stepmother who swears that this practice helped her beat cancer 30 years ago. I am open to the possibilities. We could start by visualizing our lesions shrinking and disappearing just like my stepmother visualized her breast tumors into dust. I personally have also "thought" myself in and out of small tremors...I dunno. The brain can reroute nerve signals at the very minimum.
    Tawanda
    ___________________________________________
    Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 2004; First sign of trouble: 1994

    Comment


      #3
      Thanks for this, gargantua, for this important message and a reminder.

      Then I found that the key to managing my emotional stress was in my actions. I wasn’t in control of what the illness could do to my body, but I was in command of my mindset toward the illness. I realized that the way I was living was unhelpful. I was constantly telling myself and others, “Ah, I can’t do that, I have MS now.” My attitude was not benefiting me; instead, it was giving the disease power over me.
      This was certainly a Key for me, but I still had to go through "stuff" (the shock, the emotional roller coaster and the stages of grief) before I found peace within my mind and heart. And I think it's perfectly OK to go through the stuff as long as we don't drag ourselves down for a long period of time, which in turn can be harmful.

      We have so many tools at out disposal to help us get through the stuff. Like it was mentioned, meditation, journaling gratitude and the like, faith, medication, therapy and a strong support system help us and is crucial! It won't make MS and the myriad of symptoms go away, but we find acceptance in what is.

      Thanks again!
      1st sx '89 Dx '99 w/RRMS - SP since 2010
      Administrator Message Boards/Moderator

      Comment


        #4
        Thanks ~G

        One thing that I know for sure, being physically challenged, is that I often need to use some pretty intense mental focus / concentration in order to accomplish various tasks that I never even had to think about before MS.

        Originally posted by Tawanda View Post
        I personally have also "thought" myself in and out of small tremors...I dunno.
        I use a swivel, sliding shower chair and while lifting my legs over the edge of the tub, my foot sometimes touches the cold edge, which sends my whole leg into a spasm with violent tremors.

        I've been practicing mental concentration with calm breathing to keep my leg from going berserk when my foot touches something cold, and thankfully it has been working almost every time now.

        Take Care
        PPMS for 26 years (dx 1998)
        ~ Worrying will not take away tomorrow's troubles ~ But it will take away today's peace. ~

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by KoKo View Post
          Thanks ~G

          One thing that I know for sure, being physically challenged, is that I often need to use some pretty intense mental focus / concentration

          I've been practicing mental concentration with calm breathing to keep my leg from going berserk when my foot touches something cold, and thankfully it has been working almost every time now.

          Take Care
          I don't think any MS symptom is imagined, but how we react to them may be something we have some say in. When first diagnosed, I was completely shell-shocked. I was definitely as the OP described. I had to reconcile that the body I used to effortlessly move from point A to point B no longer existed. Now I had to totally think this transition through. Indeed, this requires intense mental practice and surely it contributes to my extreme fatigue. What else can I do? Stay at point A? I choose to keep pushing...at least for now.
          Tawanda
          ___________________________________________
          Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 2004; First sign of trouble: 1994

          Comment


            #6
            I know in the first year of diagnosis, it was a struggle to separate myself from the slightest change in my body. Always wondering if MS relapse or progression. And yes, because I was emotional and anxious while going thru the stages of grief, I felt things that later disappeared as I was better able to handle the diagnosis.

            Even today, it is a balance between staying in tune with symptoms and obsessing about MS. The mind can be an incredibly powerful thing. It can help us in both positive and negative ways. That is one of the reasons to make sure anxiety and depression are treated.
            Kathy
            DX 01/06, currently on Tysabri

            Comment


              #7
              Originally posted by pennstater View Post
              I know in the first year of diagnosis, it was a struggle to separate myself from the slightest change in my body. Always wondering if MS relapse or progression. And yes, because I was emotional and anxious while going thru the stages of grief, I felt things that later disappeared as I was better able to handle the diagnosis.

              Even today, it is a balance between staying in tune with symptoms and obsessing about MS. The mind can be an incredibly powerful thing. It can help us in both positive and negative ways. That is one of the reasons to make sure anxiety and depression are treated.
              I wish a doctor would have made it mandatory for me to seek counselling that first year! I was such a mess. Mental health is not the stigma it once was, but it's still a stigma.
              Tawanda
              ___________________________________________
              Diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis 2004; First sign of trouble: 1994

              Comment


                #8
                Originally posted by Tawanda View Post
                I wish a doctor would have made it mandatory for me to seek counselling that first year! I was such a mess. Mental health is not the stigma it once was, but it's still a stigma.
                I think that someday we will figure out a balance between the physical (how our own personal genome can give us information about our microbiome and the best way for us to eat) and the mental (systems for applying stress reduction to everyday life and work) that will significantly reduce chronic illness. The complicated part will be environmental factors like chemicals, particulate, etc.

                No one thing causes this stuff, and nobody should be blamed - or blame themselves - for being in this situation. It's a rollercoaster. I haven't been able to fork out for a therapist yet, but know in my heart that it's good money to do it.
                All the best, ~G

                Comment


                  #9
                  My functional medicine doctor sees a definite connection between our mental perspectives and our physical health. He emphasizes stress management techniques and including lots of activities that create positivity and joy in our lives. ❤️
                  ~ Faith
                  MSWorld Volunteer -- Moderator since JUN2012
                  (now a Mimibug)

                  Symptoms began in JAN02
                  - Dx with RRMS in OCT03, following 21 months of limbo, ruling out lots of other dx, and some "probable stroke" and "probable CNS" dx for awhile.
                  - In 2008, I was back in limbo briefly, then re-dx w/ MS: JUL08
                  .

                  - Betaseron NOV03-AUG08; Copaxone20 SEPT08-APR15; Copaxone40 APR15-present
                  - Began receiving SSDI / LTD NOV08. Not employed. I volunteer in my church and community.

                  Comment


                    #10
                    Originally posted by Mamabug View Post
                    My functional medicine doctor sees a definite connection between our mental perspectives and our physical health. He emphasizes stress management techniques and including lots of activities that create positivity and joy in our lives. ❤️
                    Couldn't agree more Mamabug. While a healthy mindset may not heal us, a negative and anxious mind can and most likely does hurt us. Of course, it is hard day in and day out to maintain it. I do let myself have the occasional day where if I want to feel bad, I just do. But I try to limit it, otherwise, it would be too easy for me to head there all the time.
                    Kathy
                    DX 01/06, currently on Tysabri

                    Comment

                    Working...
                    X