When doctors told Andrea Hanson she had multiple sclerosis in 2000, a naturally rebellious spark in the 22-year-old ignited a roaring fire. “People started telling me what would happen to me and what I couldn’t do anymore, and I remember thinking it was ridiculous,” Hanson recalls.
Hanson didn’t listen to advice to slow down, since MS — an autoimmune disease that damages nerves — can lead to problems with mobility, mood and cognition. Instead, Hanson jumped into a challenging career in finance and began running and doing martial arts.
[See: Which Practitioner Do I See, and When?]
You Have MS
Hanson’s reaction wasn’t (and still isn’t) typical. “A lot of people go into fearful mode,” says Lauren Strober, a clinical neuropsychologist and senior research scientist at the Kessler Foundation, a rehabilitation research institute. “MS is an unpredictable and variable disease, and it’s unknown at the outset if you’ll wind up in a wheelchair or have a fairly manageable course.”
We don’t know how the disease will progress because we don’t understand exactly what triggers MS. It may be a combination of genetics and environmental exposure that cause the immune system to attack the spinal cord, brain and optic nerves. In some people, these attacks come and go in waves — a type of MS called relapsing-remitting MS. In people with progressive MS, the attacks never let up. For all MS patients, the damage left behind can short out the sophisticated wiring system that allows nerve impulses to travel throughout the body.
As a result, MS patients may experience problems with muscles, leading to extreme fatigue; trouble walking, standing or using the arms or hands; neuropathy (a burning or tingling sensation in the limbs); constipation; incontinence or sexual dysfunction. Damaged optic nerves may cause blurry or double vision. Tissue damage in the brain may result in slowed thinking and poor memory, or it may affect emotional processing, a common cause of anxiety and depression in MS. “More than 50 percent of people with MS will have a depressive episode sometime in their life after an MS diagnosis,” says John DeLuca, a neuropsychologist and senior vice president for research and training at the Kessler Foundation.
DeLuca emphasizes that having MS isn’t a guarantee you’ll get depression. “It’s more likely if you were more susceptible to depression before your MS diagnosis,” he says.
But MS and its many challenges can be overwhelming, and stress can provoke MS relapses. A rebellious Hanson found that out the hard way. “The first four years were really tough. I was under a lot of stress from my job, my lifestyle and my inability to deal with my emotions,” she remembers. “I had a lot of relapses.”
Hanson knew she had to make changes in her life, but she didn’t want to give up her can-do attitude. She began studying how to control her mindset — her mental and emotional approach to MS.
[See: 10 Questions Doctors Wish Their Patients Would Ask.]
Changing Your Mindset
Today, Hanson is a life coach based in New Castle, Colorado. She’s authored books on the MS mindset and travels around the country doing workshops. “Most people with MS keep their old mindset. They want to take action and gather information, and they make all of these plans,” she explains. “But it trips them up because there are so many conflicting opinions out there. You don’t know whom to believe. It can turn quickly into a lack of control.”
Hanson helps clients develop a positive mindset or outlook using various principles. Chief among them: “Being positive is not about being happy all the time,” she says. “It doesn’t always look like a smile. It can look like you’re empowered, determined, strong and putting your beliefs in something that works at the moment.”
She offers these tips to gain a more positive outlook on MS:
— Purge negative emotions by feeling them physically. “Don’t ignore sad emotions to stay positive. Just like you allow yourself to feel a huge belly laugh, you need to identify how it feels in your body physically when you’re angry or upset. Feel that emotion physically, and it will pass, just like the belly laugh,” Hanson says.
— Stop limiting yourself. “Avoid saying that you can’t do something or you have to do something to manage your MS,” Hanson suggests. “You’re immediately taking away your choices. Instead, say you’re choosing to take care of yourself because you don’t want to get worse.”
— Believe what you tell yourself. “If you don’t believe what you’re telling yourself, it won’t stick,” Hanson says. “Maybe you don’t believe everything will be OK, but you believe today will be OK or the next five minutes will be OK.”
— Look for evidence of positive outcomes. “We all find evidence that matches what we believe,” Hanson says. “Disrupt the process by looking for evidence that things will get better. It’s out there.”
— Be kind to yourself. “Become aware of the way you talk to yourself, and give yourself a break. Be kinder to yourself and you’ll immediately feel a little better,” Hanson says.
[See: 10 Seemingly Innocent Symptoms You Shouldn’t Ignore.]
Going the Distance
Strober and DeLuca agree that developing a positive outlook is important for MS patients, but caution that it does not come easily for everyone. “They may not have the skills or personality to do it,” DeLuca says.
A 2016 study by Strober suggests that certain personality factors for people with MS, such as higher levels of distress, are associated with poorer coping skills as well as greater fatigue, pain, depression, anxiety and stress.
But the experts say that even these people may have more success maintaining a better outlook on MS if they can:
— Maintain relationships. “Individuals who maintain social connections have been shown to have greater mental and physical health and improved brain health,” Strober says. “We know across many cultures that the people who are happiest are the people with more family connectedness and close interpersonal relationships.” Support groups can also help.
— Get more sleep. “Sleep in MS is important to ward off cognition problems and fatigue. It’s also a predictor for happiness,” she says. “Get enough sleep so that you wake up feeling rested.”
— Exercise regularly. Exercise helps manage MS, improve quality of life and treat mild to moderate depression. Aim for 30 minutes per day of brisk walking.
— Take on challenges. “When you accomplish something, it opens a door. You prove to yourself that you can overcome something, and realize the next challenge won’t be so bad,” Strober says.
— Advocate for themselves. “The more you know about MS and how it affects you,” DeLuca says, “the more empowered you’ll feel. You can talk to your neurologist about problems you have and treatments you might need.”
Does all of this really help you stay positive? “It plays an incredible role in how we respond to disease,” DeLuca says.
“What I see when someone takes steps to change their mindset is that they feel empowered, and it affects their choices,” Hanson says. “All of a sudden the habit they want to create starts sticking, self-sabotage goes away and you know that if something doesn’t work, you’ll figure it out — even if you don’t have a rebellious streak.”
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Tips for a Positive Outlook When You Have MS originally appeared on usnews.com
