Mental wellness? Wait. When given my MS diagnosis years ago, all talk centered around the physical side. No one mentioned anything about the mental challenges of MS.
For this reason, I renege my contract with multiple sclerosis! (Wish it was that easy, right?)
Fact is, in my experience, mental wellness is WAY harder to manage. I have AFO’s to help with foot drop. A rollator to Continue reading
In true keeping with not quickly remembering the lessons I’ve already learned, it took me a few months of building frustration before seeing a situation I’m experiencing as something I could approach differently.
I volunteer for our local self-help group, and increasing work and personal health demands are making it harder for me to continue doing everything I’ve done for the past six years. I’d asked for volunteers to help. Some stepped forward and I appreciated their help, but still I felt responsible for more than I can continue.
I was getting frustrated, and resentment was building. I was getting Continue reading
I went through many years of a deep dark depression that enticed me to see just how close I could get to the edge. This game of chicken between the darkness and the light stole my thirties from me and cannot return the years that were taken. This onslaught occurred as the angel and devil on either shoulder taunted me with a ruthless game of truth or dare. Although this atrocity would not stop, the bold brutal battle did not come to the desired conclusion of the dark side. The following is what helped me, and hopefully, others can Continue reading
Mental wellness is often overlooked by MS folks and those around us. I am not saying for others to walk on eggshells, but mindfulness is something we all need to remember. Mental wellness is trying and knowing when to seek assistance.
The saying, “… if you have nothing nice to say…” This goes for negative self-speech too. Try to speak words of affirmation to yourself. Be your own cheerleader. Try at least.
Having been a Continue reading
In (very) recent years, mental health and wellness have become more talked about and recognized in mainstream society. It’s discussed more openly than ever before. To be honest, we’re not too far beyond the days where it was ‘taboo’ to talk about mental health publicly.
Old Times
Few would ever think to disclose Continue reading
Ok fine!
I admit that denial of MS and its friends mental and physical stress is a battle. They go together and share equal importance. One affects the other. I had unknowingly adopted both.
Years of mental struggle and talk-therapy led me to medication eventually. I am not one to rely on pills. I try several options, before I let pills win. Anti-depressants are, for me, a must now.
I take a teeny-tiny dose, but it helps. It gets Continue reading
By Lauren Kovacs
Wellness is as broad as MS itself. It is a never-ending struggle for some kind of wellness. It haunts most of us like a persistent poltergeist. Little pieces fit into the MS puzzle and you need them all.
We all try and latch onto any floating debris. We ask, “What if it helps?” There it is, the dreaded, “What if?” Always try it; it might work for you. Turmeric is a decent life-ring for some, for example.
It is really hope we cling to, in the end, no matter how small. Routines and eating well are obvious pieces. Many of us find reducing gluten and sugar helps. The jigsaw puzzle of MS wellness is huge. Someone’s failed try might be someone else’s small victory.
One piece I have found to be golden is mental wellness. We all need to vent. I have a talk therapist. I dump my MS garbage on her, poor dear.
A disinterested third party is great for me, mentally. I am a talker. I can talk your ear off. With recent MS stuff, talking is work. Ok, I sound drunk. My brain wants to release, but by the time the flow gets out it is a muddy mess.
Unloading on your spouse puts a big kink in your marriage. Talking to a friend helps, but it has to be the right friend. Talking to a family member might not work either.
Many people are not equipped to carry the burden of listening to our MS struggles. So, we put on a happy face and move on. Eventually our bag gets too heavy and explodes or leaks.
A trail of MS juice follows us, if we ignore it. It drips from our backpack with every step. Wellness calls for us to find a way to lighten our load or patch the leak. The MS backpack is a permanent fixture. We can never take it off. Wellness of any kind is a welcomed Band-Aid.
Talking to someone helps me feel better. I can trip over my own words or smear them as they come out. I need the release at times. Friends might hear complaining and family might get annoyed.
Wellness is a puzzle piece. Trying to smash it into the wrong place won’t work, no matter how you turn the piece. Mental wellness is personal, and very important. You have to find the best way you can to slide that piece of the puzzle in. A Cadbury Crème Egg helps too.
When you have an infection, you call the doctor. When you have a toothache, you call the dentist. But why when you notice a change in your emotional wellbeing don’t you call a counselor? The mental health stigma (or the view of individuals who seek mental health counselling in a negative way) can have a strong enough effect to stop someone from picking up the phone for help. The idea that an individual is perceived in a negative manner just for the use of mental health services sometimes prevents an individual from seeking care.
In the same ways that the doctor helps cure your infection, or the dentist helps fill your cavity, a counselor or therapist can help guide you through the emotional challenge you may be experiencing. However, fear surrounding the thought of being judged or criticized holds strong enough in some individuals that they will not seek out care.
1 in 5 Americans live with a mental disorder such as depression, bipolar, or anxiety disorder according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness and two-thirds of those diagnosed do not seek treatment. Fears of disclosure or discrimination are some examples of why one would not receive care. Helping to stop mental health stigma opens the doors to mental health treatment and care for those who truly need the support.
Tips for Stopping Mental Health Stigma:
1. Educate those around you about mental health.
Example: With MS, the rate of depression is three times higher than the general population.
2. Use positive language surrounding mental health illnesses
Example: Use phrases such as “a person with depression”; correct people who use inappropriate terms to describe a person.
3. Speak up if you feel you have been discriminated against based on a mental health condition!
Example: People with mental illnesses can experience discrimination in the workplace, education, housing, and healthcare.
Please share your tips or suggestions on ways to stop mental health stigma. By sharing the voices of those in need, we move closer to a world where those who need help no longer fear reaching out.