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I have MS (or know someone who does)
Hey everyone, how're you doing today?
Please take the time to have a look at this pic. It describes my observations and beliefs about what stages as MS'ers we go through and also things we need when dealing with this condition.
It starts with SUPPORT - being heard by others and supporting ourselves as best we can to come to terms with the uncertainty that we feel as MS'ers.
This enables us to then begin the process of ACCEPTANCE - note the word 'begin'...this is an ongoing thing but at least getting to the point where we can say "I'm ok" is a massive achievement.
In turn, this enables us to take ACTION of some kind, making healthily selfish choices to look after ourselves and to remove un-neccesarily draining elements from our life
When we reach this point, the process of OWNERSHIP of the condition can begin...a period where we can begin to harness the (negative?) energy that the condition creates and use it to our advantage, to make better choices and enjoy what we CAN do rather than bemoan what we can't.
The arrows in the middle come into play wherever we are in the process and usually when we suffer a setback of some kind, perhaps a relapse, a new symptom or limitation, a change in drugs or simply a wobbly time when the gravity of this condition bites us on the ass!
Then, I believe, we need to look again for SUPPORT, begin to ACCEPT the changed condition once again and re-evaluate what ACTIONS we can take that will allow us to move towards OWNERSHIP once again....
Importantly, it's not something that happens only once, it is a cycle that I believe must be worked through throughout the course of the condition... we might not make it all the way through or we might make the journey many times over.
I hope that this visual makes sense - it's based on my observations so far and I hope that in some small way, it might help you all to see that you're not alone, wherever you are now and that this really is a journey that we're all on together, always with hope.
How long each stage takes to reach or lasts is individual and you might experience it entirely differently - for me, it helps to see it so I can centre myself and feel like I'm in some level of control of my MS journey.
Bring on Life!!