Spring Presents

Posted on April 16, 2025 by MSAA

By Stacie Prada

Without changes in routines or seasonal differences, it’s easy to lose track of time, day of the week, month, and even time of year. It’s good to have consistent healthy habits, but variety in schedule, activities, and environment helps us mark time.

Consider driving a long stretch of highway. They have names for the experience of driving a distance, losing track of time, and being surprised not to remember it: highway hypnosis and white line fever.

The more monotonous an experience, the less alert we’ll be, and we become more apt to operate on autopilot. It’s a small leap to compare this to our lives and how we experience time passing. The less we notice and the more we operate on autopilot, the more time can fly by.

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Spring Bingo Cards: A Fun Way to Celebrate New Beginnings!

Posted on April 14, 2025 by Diana Cruz-Beniquez

Spring is officially in bloom, and with that comes a sense of renewal and fresh beginnings. The new, warm season is the perfect opportunity to embrace a clean slate and positive energy. Whether it’s decluttering your home, prioritizing health and wellness, or taking a step back for some relaxation and self-care, now is a great time to start anew and focus on things that bring you joy!

This spring, I have challenged myself to prioritize overall wellness. This means, I am striving to put in extra energy towards eating well and consuming whole foods, remaining consistent with exercise, going for more walks, spending quality time with loved ones, and focusing on what brings me overall happiness and health. Especially when dealing with an autoimmune disease, I’ve found that it’s so important to put energy into enriching aspects of life: nutrition, health, loving connections, and happiness in the small things. With that being said, I have decided to make my personal challenge a fun one by creating my own spring bingo card!

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Spring Cleaning

Posted on April 11, 2025 by Dana Carney

It started with realizing that the sun had not set yet before dinner, noticing that my shoulders didn’t automatically hunch against the wind when walking outside. Then, when the flower blossoms started blooming and my allergies came again, I finally realized that we were running headfirst into spring.

It is interesting how spring brings up similar feelings of new beginnings and motivation as the new year. While ‘resolutions’ are attributed solely to the January holiday, springtime has its own version of starting anew – spring cleaning.

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A Letter to a Friend: So You’ve Just been Diagnosed with MS…

Posted on March 24, 2025 by Courtney Merker

Dear Friend,

I’ve been thinking about you so much since you shared your recent diagnosis of MS. I know this probably feels like a lot – like the ground has shifted under your feet – and I wish I could be there in person to give you the biggest hug. Since I can’t, I wanted to write you this letter instead.

I don’t have all the answers (who does?), but I want to share a few things that I’ve come to learn about MS. Just remember, you are not alone. Not now, not ever. I am here for you, and so are your closest friends and family.

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A Love Letter to My Younger Self

Posted on March 19, 2025 by Emily

By: Emily Carlin

Understanding life with a chronic disease diagnosis is a long-term experience. For me, it took years to come to terms with the fact that I have MS. The journey was not easy but looking back I am proud of myself for how I handled that situation so early in my adulthood.

For some background, I was 23 when I was diagnosed with MS. Unfortunately, I am very familiar with how this condition can impact your life, as some of my family members have lived with MS for many years. To write this piece, I’m going to take you on a little journey with me. Join me as I take you back to the time when I was first diagnosed as I pretend to take myself out for coffee as the 35-year-old woman, wife, and mother I am now.

I asked my younger self out to coffee. She showed up with glowing skin, long hair, vibrant, and full of life. She was also well rested (darn, I was jealous of that, being I’m now a mom of two toddlers). She asked me how my day was going with a cheerful smile. I paused for a second, I looked right in her eyes and told her she was beautiful before I answered. I softly smiled, and told her my day was going well, but I had some things I’d like to share with her.

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Nurturing Love for Yourself and Others

Posted on February 28, 2025 by Courtney Merker

Love, like any living thing, needs nourishment. Just as plants require water, sunlight, and care to grow, our relationships – both with ourselves and those around us – thrive when we invest time, attention and kindness. The way we treat ourselves often reflects in how we show up for others, and vice versa. When we nurture love within, it naturally extends outward, strengthening our bonds with the people with care about.

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Learning to Love Yourself

Posted on February 26, 2025 by Teena Palathanam

I truly believe that the more I care about my needs, the more effectively I can take care of others around me. The more compassion I show myself, the more empathy I can show to others. This means that if I want fruitful relationships with others around me, the transformation must start from within me. Taking care of oneself is not selfish and it often translates to prioritizing yourself. Below are some things to keep in mind while learning to love yourself.

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It All Begins with You

Posted on February 22, 2025 by Diana Cruz-Beniquez

There are so many aspects of life that can continuously change: your job position, friends, family, romantic relationships, your environment. But there is one thing that always remains: You. We often forget that we have a relationship with ourselves and how we nurture that can affect many other aspects of our lives.

The relationship you have with yourself is one that you carry with you every day and everywhere. Your thoughts, emotions, sense of identity, perspective on yourself and your connection to the world will ultimately affect your perspective on life and the various situations and relationships you encounter. A positive relationship with yourself is the foundation to a positive relationship with the world and people around you. But how do you determine what type of relationship you have with yourself? By asking yourself a few questions, you may be able to weave together the bigger picture.

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Filling Your Cup: The Importance of Self-Care

Posted on February 19, 2025 by Claudia Chavez

Self-care is often easier said than done. While it broadly refers to the actions we take to improve or maintain our physical, mental, and emotional well-being, truly understanding what self-care entails—and how it benefits us—can sometimes feel elusive. At its core, self-care is about meeting our needs and nurturing ourselves so that we can show up fully for others.

Understanding the importance of self-care and its impact on our well-being is vital. I like to think of self-care as a cup of water: we cannot pour from an empty cup. When we give from our cup, it depletes our own reserves. Instead, let’s focus on filling our cup to the brim with love and care, allowing it to overflow. By sharing from the overflow, we ensure our cup always remains full while still nurturing those around us. In doing so, we create a sustainable cycle of giving that benefits both ourselves and others.

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