August 5, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes Discovering What It Takes to Survive in These Troubled Times Unless youāve been living under a rock or are somehow lucky enough to live on your own desert island, youāve probably noticed that things are kinda difficult these days. I mean, COVID-19 is still a thing, and now we have monkeypox to deal with. Everyone seems to be…
May 20, 2022 Columns by Jamie Hughes When MS Takes From Me, I Try to Give Back in Service to Others Last weekend was a busy one. On Friday, I had to drop my eldest son at school at 5:30 a.m. for a field trip and then pick him up at 11 p.m. A nap wasnāt in the cards, Iām sad to say, and at some point in the evening, I…
April 20, 2022 Columns by Beth Ullah MS and Emotions: Pessimism vs. Realism in Life With Chronic Illness There is an ongoing difference of opinion between my husband and me regarding my general outlook on life. I consider myself to be a realist, whereas he thinks I tend to err on the side of pessimism. I’m an overthinker. I’ve always felt things incredibly intensely. Interestingly, when I read…
June 7, 2021 News by Margarida Maia, PhD Impaired Social Cognition May Affect Well-being of RRMS Patients Impaired social cognition ā lacking the ability to understand and process others’ emotions ā may affect how people with relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) feel on a day-to-day basis, a small, three-year study has found. RRMS patients with such difficulties were “characterized at follow-up by a higher level of depression…
June 5, 2020 Columns by Jamie Hughes When Roses Change, Color Me Surprised Right now, itās tempting to feel hopeless. COVID-19 is still out there with no vaccine in sight. Millions of people are out of work. And regardless of how you feel about the protests taking place in all 50 U.S. states (and around the world), all of us can admit…
September 6, 2019 Columns by Ed Tobias Social Cognition: Does It Impact MS Symptoms? Feeling tired, depressed, or anxious? Maybe it has to do with your social cognition. Social cognition involves empathy and recognizing the emotions that are revealed by someone’s facial expression. That expression may show fear or disgust. Or it may warn us of danger. Social cognition also involves the…
February 18, 2019 Columns by Debi Wilson Being Kind to Others with MS Can Help Our Own Well-being Sometimes I feel that some in the multiple sclerosis (MS) community do not show kindness to each other. Perhaps they canāt relate to others’ MS realities because their symptoms are dissimilar or they have a different disease type. I have witnessed interactions between people with MS in which one…
February 11, 2019 News by Jonathan Grinstein Social Cognition Issues Linked to Damage in Specific Brain Region in RRMS Patients, Study Shows Issues with social cognition can occur inĀ relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS) patients even without the presence of cognitive impairment, and are related to damage in a specific brain region known as the amygdala, a study reports. The study, āSocial cognition deficits and the role of…
June 22, 2018 Columns by Ed Tobias Do People Think Your MS Problems Are All in Your Head? Have you ever had a friend, spouse, or even a doctor tell you that you’re imagining your MS pain, your fatigue, or even your sexual problems? “You’re not trying,” they might say. Or, “You just need to exercise.” It happens all the time for many of us, and it’s…
May 14, 2018 Columns by Debi Wilson MS Is Frustrating, So It’s Healthy to Talk About It We all have taken advice or read about how to manage our multiple sclerosis (MS) symptoms. And we can share with our doctors, spouses, children, or friends about our experiences. But a far better emotional therapy is empathizing with a fellow MS warrior. People can’t understand living with MS…
February 6, 2018 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson I Choose to Address Chronic Illness on My Terms Who decides how we choose to chronicle our journey of illness? I have thought about this for the past few days. Many people believe that sharing the negative aspects of illness exacerbates fear and pessimism. The mindset is that if our words are inconsistent with hope and optimism, we…
October 25, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn Friendships and MS Maintaining friendships can be challenging for those with a chronic illness. It may be difficult for friends to understand the changes that take place because of MS. Some changes are quite sudden and visible, others sneak in slowly. Increased fatigue or pain, I find, are most difficult for friends…
June 12, 2017 Columns by Debi Wilson A Glimpse at Jason, a Loving Dad with MS, as Father’s Day Nears Father’s Day is Sunday, June 18, in the U.S. There are a lot of good fathers out there, but one I wanted to tell you about is my friend Jason Clark. He is a caring husband to his wife, Jenny, and an amazing father to his four children.
July 6, 2016 News by Patricia Silva, PhD MS Takes a Toll on Caregivers, Too, Especially on Their Mental Health Caregivers of peopleĀ with multiple sclerosis (MS) are often burdened by fatigue and depression, evenĀ anger,Ā all of which can unwittinglyĀ reduce the quality of care given ā although theyĀ remain quite empathetic, according to a study. The research team atĀ theĀ University of ManitobaĀ in Canada suggested that tending to the needs of people caring for…