DEALING WITH EMOTIONS is an important part of the adjustment and coping process, but it is not the only part. In addition to coping with their emotions, people living with MS are generally called upon to make a variety of concrete changes in their day-to-day routines. When people are first impacted by MS symptoms, the disease may feel like a huge, looming monster that uses all the space in the family's life. There may be so much that needs to be done differently - such as getting from one place to another, managing tasks at home or at work, or enjoying leisure activities - that MS always seems to be in the way and underfoot.
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| Multiple Sclerosis Signs And Symptoms |
As people gradually make the necessary changes, however, and become accustomed to some modified ways of doing things, it becomes somewhat easier to "sweep MS into a corner." Although MS is never going to go away, the family can reach the point where the disease no longer drains quite as much attention and emotional energy. At that point, people are able to continue with their lives, secure in the fact that although MS is a part of their lives, it does not have to be the whole of it.
The ability to "sweep MS into a corner" - or "keep it in its place" - may last only as long as the disease is quiet and stable. With each significant change or loss, the disease looms large once again, requiring people to repeat the process of grieving and adaptation. Some have described life with MS as a kind of emotional roller coaster, defined by all the dips and turns of this unpredictable disease.
Stress
THE ISSUES DISCUSSED thus far have one thing in common-they all entail stress. Stress is anything that impinges on us and demands some change on our part that is accompanied by an emotional reaction. Life is full of stresses both large and small, painful and happy. Larger stresses (i.e., losing a loved one, losing a job, or getting married) are often referred to as "stressful life events." The smaller stresses of everyday life, such as getting stuck in traffic or misplacing one's keys, might be thought of as "hassles." Having a chronic disease like MS adds a considerable amount of disease-related stress to the common stresses of modern life. Learning to cope with this increased stress load is a major challenge for individuals with MS and their families.
A major stress that accompanies MS is the fear that stress itself may make the disease worse by precipitating exacerbations. Anecdotes abound concerning sudden and traumatic worsening of MS following major life events. There have been more than two dozen studies that have tried to sort out the relationship between stress and the onset or exacerbation of MS. Some of these studies have found a complex interplay between stress and the immune system, and it has been proposed that stress may worsen MS by promoting the inflammatory process. Sufficient evidence to support such an idea is lacking, however, and the relationship between stress and MS remains far from clear.
Sometimes family members worry that their behavior has somehow caused the stresses that worsened a loved one's MS. Many people with MS have been told to quit working in order to cut down on the stress in their lives, or to simplify their lives in order to avoid stress. There is no scientific evidence whatsoever to support either of these ideas. Stress is an unavoidable part of life, and a person can create unnecessary, additional distress simply by trying to avoid the unavoidable. One can, however, learn how to cope with stress more effectively. Better coping is not going to slow down the progression of the disease, but it is likely to make life much happier for everyone. To find out more, you can check out Multiple Sclerosis Signs And Symptoms.