WHEN YOU’VE BEEN diagnosed with a disease like multiple sclerosis (MS), a chronic inflammatory condition that occurs when the immune system attacks the central nervous system (CNS), it’s essential to have a wide-ranging care team you can rely on over the long-term. This A-team features not just your neurologist and other medical professionals, but also people who are there to support your mental and emotional health. That often includes friends and family, but even your best pal can’t be everything for you. Making sure you have a psychologist on your team can be an incredibly valuable resource as you navigate your condition.
“Getting an MS diagnosis can be a shock for many people even if they’ve been experiencing numerous symptoms,” says Asaff Harel, M.D., a neurologist and MS specialist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. “That ramps up their stress levels considerably, and unfortunately, that can worsen symptoms.” Wherever you are in your MS journey, working through your feelings and finding healthy ways to cope with the help of a trained professional can be helpful for both your physical and emotional health.
The Emotional Impact of MS
People with MS often focus primarily on their physical health and tend to neglect their emotional health, even though it’s an essential component of their overall wellness, according to the National Multiple Sclerosis Society. But the emotional weight of MS is heavy. The condition can bring deep feelings of grief, prompted by a feeling of loss that comes with a diagnosis. Because MS is incurable, your diagnosis may cause you to be fearful about what’s ahead, frustrated over having to adapt to treatments, and deeply sad.
Depression is one of the most common symptoms of MS, and some research has suggested that clinical depression is more frequent among people with MS than in the general population or among people with other types of chronic illnesses.
As MS progresses, mood and cognitive changes that come with the disease can often interfere with daily functioning even more than physical symptoms, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. Apathy or anxiety might hold you back from doing activities you used to genuinely enjoy, and there may also be a ripple effect. For example, depression could negatively affect memory and information processing, which then negatively affects a patient’s self-worth.
Because of the profound effects that emotional challenges can have on your condition, meeting regularly with a mental health professional like a psychologist can not only help you address what’s going on now, but also help you cope with difficulties in the future.
How a Psychologist Can Help
Talking through any feelings of loss, anxiety, anger, and helplessness can be an incredibly helpful way to process them, according to Jenny Yip, Psy.D., a clinical psychologist and executive director of Renewed Freedom Center in Los Angeles, which specializes in treating anxiety.
“Sometimes, just recognizing what you’re feeling and articulating it can help to lower anxiety about what you’re dealing with,” she says. “Over time, as you talk through these issues, it becomes easier to identify emotions that are challenging for you.”
Psychologists don’t just listen, however. Yip adds that a crucial aspect of therapy is understanding how those emotions are affecting you in other ways. For example, your grief over having MS may be causing conflict with family members because you feel resentful that they don’t have a chronic condition or you feel like they don’t understand your struggles. Or you may not realize that depression is manifesting itself in indifference and lack of self-care because you don’t feel sad or withdrawn, but skipping doctor appointments or stopping your medication without telling your neurologist are signs you may need mental health help.
“Acknowledging what you’re feeling is the first step, and the next is seeing how that’s impacting other parts of your life,” says Yip. Making these connections can spur you to build more emotional resilience and spot challenges before they feel overwhelming.
Another way a psychologist can help is by giving you tools and resources to manage stress, Yip adds. For instance, that might mean keeping a daily journal as a way to work through your feelings or learning breathing exercises to rely on when you feel anxious to the point of panic.
You might also want to invite your partner or other important people in your life to your sessions from time to time. After all, MS can affect an entire family, and acknowledging the shift in relationship dynamics can reduce friction and help your family work together and support each other.
“To read this article in its entirety: Why Everyone With MS Needs a Psychologist on Their Care Team.”