Coping methods

You’re chronically ill, super anxious, crazy shy, unconfident, and have no interviewing skills. To some, that recipe may sound like a terrible concoction to start a podcast. However, for me, I knew it was something I had to do. I had to share…

“I am fine.” Three words I know as rote. I say them frequently and without hesitation. I utter them as much for others as I do for myself. My reality is too much for most. At times it is too much for me. This packaged response is almost expected. And…

There’s something we need to address, right here, right now. Not all of you will like it or agree with what I’m about to say, and that’s OK. I need to get this off my chest, so here it goes.  I hear so many people with…

Hi there. It’s me, typing again on my very ownsome! For the last two weeks, I’ve been too ill to manage, so my wife kindly acted as a secretary — another of her many talents! I apologize for last week’s rather gruesome outing, but trying to stick to…

Four weeks of mindfulness meditation helped to improve thinking skills and a sense of emotional balance in people with multiple sclerosis (MS), and to a greater extent than cognitive training given to a separate patient group, a pilot clinical trial reports.  These results were detailed in two studies,“…

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the forum post “Is your MS Invisible or is it obvious?” published on Feb. 15,…

Music is a spiritual experience. I love music in all of its forms. I grew up being serenaded by parents harmonizing everything from the Phi Gam fight song to Peter, Paul and Mary. After crucifying the clarinet, I played the piano until my late teens. I have fond memories of…

I just turned 42, and though I am wiser and stronger and more independent than I was a few decades ago, not everything is coming up roses. Some days, I feel weak and helpless. Other days, I’m overwhelmed. And that’s just part and parcel of life for every human being…

I lie on my stomach in a Downward Dog fail. I am doing yoga, or something like it. I open my eyes. I spy a golden retriever tumbleweed float across the travertine floor. I feel my body flinch. It knows how much I want to get up and clean. It…

Bookmark this page! Why? Because in this column, I’ll give you three techniques to help manage your anxiety. Anxiety and stress are unhelpful for anyone’s mind or body, particularly with a chronic illness like multiple sclerosis. Feeling anxious or stressed is our brain’s mechanism to prepare the body…

I’ve never done this before, but I’m dictating this column to my wife. She has many attributes, among them being trained as a secretary many years ago. We went to the same further-education college when we were both in our late teens, but never met while there. I think she…

I knew a urinary tract infection (UTI) had come a visiting again. I’m now attuned to the slightest hint, like that vague burning after weeing. Indeed, it doesn’t have to burn; it could merely be the faintest tinkle — which is rather apt! This time, it went on to further…

The state of our world lies heavy on my shoulders. I worry about and miss my family. Our geographical distance, although unchanged, seems to have grown exponentially. Is everyone so far, or am I so very confined? I understand how a prisoner in solitary confinement finds his own perception…

We are living in unprecedented times. Years from now, references will be made to COVID-19. Numbers of those afflicted and those we lost will live on in print. Future generations will learn how phrases such as “social distancing” and “stop the spread” originated. This pandemic will leave a…

No one needs to be reminded of the pandemic we’re in the midst of. We live it every day. The novel coronavirus has attacked with a vengeance, proving that no one is safe from its ruins. The actuality of being quarantined and the practice of social distancing have resulted…

Living through this unique time is nothing like I’ve ever experienced before.  There’s so much doom and gloom around lately. I don’t know about you, but the constant government alerts and updates don’t feel like they’re helping me. It’s enough to drive me insane if I…

Life is unscripted. It is messy and uncertain, with change being the only constant. Much like living with multiple sclerosis, adapting to change is directly correlated to our ability to thrive. We are reminded of this as we adjust to our new reality in the throes of COVID-19. Seemingly…

Take a deep breath, and I don’t mean the kind promoted by fake memes infecting the web to “prove” that you don’t have COVID-19! My deep-breath moment was in a small elevator at my doctor’s office. An able-bodied woman in her 50s bounded into the elevator behind my wheelchair…

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forums. This week’s question is inspired by the forum topic “Do you have mood swings? What helps?” from Nov. 27, 2018. Do you…

Being diagnosed with a chronic illness isn’t easy by any stretch of the imagination. It comes with a new medical language to learn, a plethora of lengthy appointments, an impressive amount of blood tests, and a lot of frustration. But does it lead…

There’s a story I love to tell about my dad, a retail warrior with more than 30 years of experience under his belt. And it’s one that I think is apropos for those of us dealing with multiple sclerosis. Back in the 1980s when he was a department manager…

Welcome to 2020 and a new decade! I am thankful to still have the gift of life and to continue to share this space with you. I have read a multitude of writings and intentions for 2020. Resolutions are penned as the quest to live intentionally persists. 2019 was an…

One of the most annoying MS symptoms is fatigue. It’s as unpredictable as the British weather and a constant balancing act. On energetic days we tend to do too much, depleting our energy for the next day. Running a business is no…

Editor’s note: “Need to Know” is a series inspired by common forum questions and comments from readers. Have a comment or question about MS? Visit our forum. This week’s question is inspired by the post, “Have you learned how to pace yourself?” from April 13, 2019. Have an…

Well, this is one way of showing that I attended first-year philosophy seminars: Draw on the thoughts of Plato and Aristotle, then leap two millennia to Descartes. I never studied history, but I’m actually far more comfortable with it! Also, I don’t think I’ve ever built a column based on…

Traveling with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis is challenging. International travel adds some extra lengthy steps. That said, I have the bug. I’ve always had a hunger to see and experience new people and places. From a young age, I traveled alongside my parents, which gave me a cultural education…

I read a sad tweet last night (though, in a way, aren’t all of them somewhat sad?) in which a woman told a story about her friend who had just broken up with her boyfriend of one year. She asked her friend how she was holding up. The reply was…

My nose started running about a week before the sledgehammer hit. Then came a chesty cough, not yet as serious as the one that had my wife wheezing, but I was worried that I’d soon catch up with her. I didn’t…

I sat stunned as tears welled. I gazed toward the pain in my knee. My pants were torn. Blood pooled, then dripped down my calf. I was transfixed. The contents of my purse were strewn beneath a car. I reached for my phone but recoiled from the pain in my…

After I wrote my last column about essential oils to combat the common cold, I knew I was doomed to catch something. And that’s what happened … kinda. A few days ago, I felt what my family calls “a throat thing” coming on, but thankfully, my friend Sandy hooked…