July 16, 2021 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson The Peril of Toxic Positivity — Too Real to Pretend “Look on the bright side.” Someone just said this to me days ago regarding the loss of a very dear friend. The bright side? I demanded to know what the bright side of this situation could be. There was no satiable explanation given in that moment. I am also…
April 1, 2021 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell To Define My Reality With MS, I Choose Optimism I am an optimist in a pessimistic world. A fish out of water. I hold hope to ward off messages of defeat. In a world rife with suffering, hope is essential for soul survival. In my world with secondary progressive multiple sclerosis, it has been my saving grace.
September 10, 2020 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell The Contrast Between Positivity and the Realities of MS I am tired of having multiple sclerosis. I am just so tired of this disease. And you know what? That is OK. Being tired of MS does not negate my gratitude. It does not replace my joy and zest for life. It is granting myself the grace to be honest…
August 23, 2017 Columns by Judy Lynn Building Toward Optimism: The ‘Tetris’ Effect In the video game “Tetris,” players fit falling puzzle pieces together in order to create the most complete picture. As the game continues, the pieces fall faster. Creating order and cohesion out of chaos is necessary, as it is a common human desire. I never liked “Tetris,” but…
July 27, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Choosing to Infuse Myself with Optimism Living with an incurable, progressive disease can be physically and emotionally exhausting. I’ve always been a girl who thrives on proof and assurances, and there seem to be little of either where MS is concerned. It’s taken me quite a while to settle into the awkward instability that is ambiguity,…
July 20, 2017 Columns by Jennifer (Jenn) Powell Silver Linings A silver lining is the hopeful side of a situation that might seem gloomy on the surface. A metaphor for optimism, this accurately describes who I am. This is not to say that I don’t experience the inevitable darkness that accompanies those trying days living with progressive multiple sclerosis, I…
April 12, 2017 Columns by Jamie Hughes Spring is an Apt Time to Reflect on MS and Hope T.S. Eliot’s opens his masterwork The Waste Land with four stunning lines of verse: April is the cruellest month, breeding Lilacs out of the dead land, mixing Memory and desire, stirring Dull roots with spring rain. It seems odd to say that April is…
April 4, 2017 Columns by Teresa Wright-Johnson Ocrevus: FDA Approval Triggers Hope, Optimism — and Concern — Among MS Patients The past few days have been remarkable in the multiple sclerosis (MS) community, with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approving Ocrevus to treat relapsing MS (RRMS) and primary progressive MS (PPMS) in the United States. Ocrevus — adminstered intravenously every six months — is the first drug…
