With MSAA’s 2024 MS Awareness Month campaign theme of “Improving Lives Through Supportive Connections,” we are proud to have introduced various initiatives throughout the month of March focused on the power of social interactions and connections, mental health and emotional support, as well as tools that may assist in the quality of life for those with MS. One of the free educational and supportive services that we introduced this month was our podcast mini-series titled “Finding Joy in the Process: Managing Mental Health in the MS Journey.”  

This three-episode series, featuring behavioral medicine specialist Dr. Amy Sullivan, brings light to the importance of prioritizing health and wellness throughout the MS experience and journey by offering insightful tips, resources, and more. 

We invite you to listen in as Dr. Sullivan and series host, Yahaira Rivera, Director of Mission Delivery and Program Development for MSAA, touch upon the mental health effects that may accompany an MS diagnosis, as well as strategies to cope and improve one’s emotional well-being.

The three parts of this series highlight the following concepts:

• Part one, “Mental Health and MS.” In this episode, Dr. Sullivan discusses the significance of validating mental health concerns in those living with MS, along with common MS symptoms that impact one’s mental health.
• Part two, “The Power of Positive Thinking.” In this episode, Dr. Sullivan provides insight into how to create and maintain an optimistic mindset throughout one’s MS journey by coming to terms with a diagnosis and how to use positivity as a coping strategy.
• Part three, “Social Interactions and Connections.” In this episode, Dr. Sullivan explores how remaining sociable as well as maintaining connections and relationships can act as beneficial tools to empower one’s health and wellness throughout one’s experience with MS.

Listen to all three parts of “Finding Joy in the Process: Managing Mental Health in the MS Journey” on MSAA’s website or wherever you listen to podcasts. Episodes are available on Apple, Google, Spotify, Pandora, Audible, and Amazon Music.