Is your mood being affected by your MS?

Mood changes can be seen quite frequently amongst folks living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Common types of changes experienced by MSers are:

1. Grief and lost

2. Depression
3. Anxiety
4. Mood swings

To help you learn to deal with any of these conditions you should look for help by visiting a Psychiatrist that can provide you with Physiotherapy and can also prescribe medications to get you out of the dump or visit a Psychologist that have experience in helping people that are going thru rough periods in their lives.

There are many other alternatives you can considered. Some of the most frequently used are:

• Social workers – Many hold counseling degrees and are trained to do psychotherapy (normally done with couples and families) and help with some services.
• Psychiatric Nurses – In the USA, they can prescribe in some states.

WHAT ABOUT MY FAMILY AND CARE GIVERS

In the case of men with MS, everybody knows that men think that is our job to protect our families and we protect our families about knowing our own frame of mind, so men bottled up these feelings quite often.

If you are a fellow guy experiencing mood swings and feelings that might “explode” sometime in the near future, your best bet is to talk to a mental health professional and/or seek out your local MS support group. I guarantee you that you will be glad you did.

I know from personal experience that a lot of times I don’t say or express what I am feeling or experiencing ‘cause I don’t want to worry my wife or my daughter so talking to someone who is a mental health professional will help you by talking without having to worry about burdening your family and friends.

The keyword here is TALKING

Hat off to you ladies! You all are so much more communicative than men and those of you struggling with Multiple Sclerosis emotional issues can vent and deal with them in a much more effective matter by joining a support group or MS association’s chapter for example.

WHAT IS REALLY HAPPENING INSIDE?

Sudden changes in your frame of mind and mix emotions can be hard to deal and even scary sometimes for those of us living with MS. There is one thing you have to understand. This happens in folks with MS because there is a disconnection between the emotions an MSer is expressing and the situation that we find ourselves in - in other words, there is a disconnection of the part that express emotions and the part that controls that expression.

The problem is the result of the location of the MS lesions in the nerves fibers that disconnect parts of the brain from other parts of the brain. In other words, what is happening is due to a disconnection between the part of your brain that controls your feelings and the part in charge of expressing those feelings.

WHAT IS AN EXAMPLE OF MOOD CHANGES?

Around 10% of all MSers experience what doctors called Pseudobulbar affect or (SBA).

This frequently manifest in uncontrollable laughing or uncontrollable crying. It can be a very embarrassing situation when it happens to say the least. It is sort of a disconnection between the inside and the outside so you can’t control what’s happening, what’s going on and as a result you are scare and anxious.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND RESOURCES

In the business world they say that Information is power and in our case information is better understanding of what is happening and why is happening.

Below you’ll find a series of webcasts elaborated by the National MS Society on:

• The Healthy Role of Grieving
• Understanding Depression
• Diagnosing and Treating Depression
• Managing Anxiety
• Practical Ways of Dealing with Mood Swings
• Emotional Impact on Family
• Mental Health Professionals and Resources

Please bear in mind that this is only for informational purposes and you should always talk to your neurologist or prime care doctor about treatment alternatives to emotional and mood altering changes you might be experiencing.

Click the following link to view the webcast

Go to top of the page

Go back from Ms & Mood to Anxiety page

Go back from MS & Mood to ms-multiple-sclerosis-symptoms Home page

Go to the MS'ers Place

New! Comments