Know Multiple Sclerosis

Multiple sclerosis has so many effects on patients. The most obvious ones are the symptoms. But it goes much deeper than that. There are the emotional and psychological impacts as well. Those are harder to see and treat - but can be just as damaging.

I've gone through difficult times in dealing with my diagnosis. I went through a period of mourning initially. At 23, I was no longer care-free and invincible. I had a chronic illness which would be with me the rest of my life. There was much to learn and a very uncertain future ahead. I came to learn as much as I could and discovered that the future is inherently uncertain for everyone - such as for all those killed in car accidents today. Life offers no guarantees, and MS is just a reminder of that.

One of the other impacts the disease has had for me is this: the diagnosis rattled me so much that I find myself thinking other things could be wrong with me also. I figure if I can get MS, I could get anything, right? I know logically that's not the case. And, in fact, statistically speaking, since I already have one chronic illness, the odds of me getting something else bad are probably pretty slim. I have just had to find ways to reassure myself of that fact.

The impacts of multiple sclerosis are complicated. The dynamic of the disease - striking the young, being chronic, having such varying degrees of severity, etc. - make it a difficult and fascinating disease to study. It deserves more attention than it gets.