Skip to content
Multiple Sclerosis News Today logo Newsletter
Newsletter
  • About MS
    Multiple sclerosis overview
    • Types of MS
    • Causes and risk factors
    • Symptoms
    • Diagnosis
    • Living with MS
    Treatments options for MS
    • Approved treatments
    • Experimental treatments
    Clinical Trials
    • What are clinical trials?
    • Types of clinical trials
    • How do clinical trials work?
    • Traditional vs. remote vs. hybrid clinical trials
    • FAQs about clinical trials
  • Featured Topics
    Newly diagnosed guide
    • Videos: Embarking on the MS journey
    • Continuing MS treatment
    • MS and employment
    • Next steps after an MS diagnosis
    • MS caregivers guide
    • MS healthcare team
    • Perspectives on MS diagnosis
    • MS treatment explainer
    • Questions to ask your doctor
    • Guidelines for MS diagnosis
    • View all
    MS pathways
    • MS and sleep
    • Videos: Worth the talk
    • Managing RRMS
    • Changing MS therapy
    • Mental health and MS
    • MS spasticity stretches
    • MS apps and tools
    • Energy levels and MS
    • MS and eating
    Living strong
    • MS and chronic pain
    • Stress and MS
    • MS and exercise
    • MS safe home tips
    • MS in women
    • Talking to your doctor
    • Recognizing MS symptoms
    • MS and restless leg syndrome
    Resources
    • MS hug
    • MS and heat
    • Cannabis and MS
    • Lesions and MS
    • Myelin's role in MS
    • Epstein-Barr virus and MS
    • Stem cell therapy for MS
    • MS prognosis and life expectancy
    • MS and mental health
    Expert voices
    • Exercise
    • Pain management
    • Cannabis use
    • Diet and nutrition
    • Financial planning
    • Managing fatigue
    • Sleeping well
    • More
  • News
  • Columns
    Authentically Human – Desiree Lama
    Balancing Grit and Grace – Ahna Crum
    Chairborne — Ben Hofmeister
    Delicate Balance – Leigh Anne Nelson
    Rhythms and Routines – Susan Payrovi, MD
    Archived Columns
    • A Life in Letters — Jamie Hughes
    • DISabled to ENabled — Jessie Ace
    • Dive to Fight MS – Mike Parker
    • Fall Down, Get Up Again — John Connor
    • Goldilochs — Stephen De Marzo
    • Patiently Awakened — Teresa Wright-Johnson
    • The MS Wire — Ed Tobias
    • Silver Linings — Jennifer Powell
    In memoriam
    • Through the Looking Glass — Beth Shorthouse-Ullah
  • Forums
  • Video & Podcasts
    Get Tough on Multiple Sclerosis Video Series
    Get Tough on Multiple Sclerosis Podcast
    The Multiple Sclerosis Podcast
  • Advocacy partners
  • What can we help you find today?

Megan Beier, PhD: Taking the first steps toward well-being

More videos

Dominic Shadbolt

Brandon Beaber

Dominic Shadbolt

Megan Beier video still

  • Share on Facebook
  • Share on Twitter
  • Share on Reddit
  • Share via Email

Megan Beier, PhD, is a health and rehabilitation psychologist specializing in multiple sclerosis (MS) at the Rowan Center for Behavioral Medicine. She shares the ways she counsels and prepares people who are newly diagnosed with MS so they can build their emotional well-being on a wise foundation.

Transcript

So there’s a few things. As a psychologist, I have kind of a little bit of a different take on this than maybe some other providers. My first thing is: Get educated on MS. So, I’ve had people who really don’t want to think about it because their MS symptoms — after that first exacerbation when they are getting diagnosed with relapsing-remitting MS — kind of go away and they’re feeling pretty good. But I do think it’s important to really understand what MS is, what the symptoms are.

Read More

And you know, [also understand] potentially what’s coming next so that you can have a good plan. I also find that some people feel really relieved after the diagnosis. Some people completely ignore it and just go on with their life as if it didn’t exist at all. And I think that sometimes that second category — while it’s good in the moment — may not be good for the long term.

So I ask some of my patients to explore what their expectations are about the future, what they hope to get out of life, what they think MS will bring to their life, both in a good way and maybe in … a not so good way. I ask them to start identifying what strategies they already have for managing uncertainty because living with MS can be a very uncertain diagnosis. And so if you have strategies, that’s great. If not, maybe start to explore either with a psychologist or therapist or even on your own: What other strategies can you use to up that tolerance of uncertainty?

I often talk to people about finding their team. Where can they go for certain answers to different medical questions? Do they need to build a team? Do they already have a team? Do they need to look outside of their state if they’re living in kind of a neurology desert or a rehab desert? Who can do virtual sessions if you need to get in touch with somebody? So just having those people that you can go to if something comes up is often very reassuring.

And finally, I really like to ask people to start exploring and challenging some of the beliefs that they have around disability and what it means to be healthy, even challenging some ableist beliefs because often when I’m working with people who have a lot of fears about MS, most of the time, those fears are coming from a misunderstanding of what life could be like when using things like mobility aids. And actually, those can be really great tools for expanding one’s life and not necessarily something that’s holding somebody back.

Print This Page

More videos

My MS diagnosis story: Mike Parker
My MS diagnosis story: Jessica Lovato
My MS diagnosis story: Susan Payrovi, MD
See more videos
Envelope icon

Subscribe to our newsletter

Get regular updates to your inbox.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Bionews, Inc.

3 W Garden St
Suite 700
Pensacola, FL 32502
Website: bionews.com
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 1-800-936-1363

  • About Us
  • Leadership
  • Our Culture
  • Editorial Policy
  • Advertising Policy
  • Corrections Policy
  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Careers
  • Contact Us
Disclaimer

This site is strictly a news and information website about the disease. It does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. This content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on this website.

Copyright © 2013-2025 All rights reserved.