Feeling REALLY low...

[Techie]

Hi everyone,

Its been a long while since I was on here last... have been feeling very down and hopeless for a long time... and to make things worse... just the other day I was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (motor impairment in my right hand, eye and speech with multiple leasion sites in the MRI scan and the tell-tale proteins in the spinal fluid so they are 100% positive).

I was feeling bad enough without the MS... now its hard to feel as though I should have any hope when there is now the strong possibility I will end up with some 'impairment' in one form or another.

Even my therapist was blown away by the diagnosis... we both just sat there not knowing what to say... her thinking was that with how I have been feeling and with this on my mind that I may not be able to concentrate on the CBT or therapy of any kind.

"Normal" people often become depressed with a diagnosis like this, but heck... I was already really depressed... I dont know what to feel now. I am feeling really low.

Boy, do I need a holiday !

 

[David Baxter PhD]

You might try looking in the phone book or calling your local hospital or MS society to see if there are any support groups in your area.

See also multiple sclerosis support group - Google Search

 

[Daniel E.]

When I had acute OCD symptoms, I always wondered about how I would be able to cope with physical problems like the paralysis experienced by Christopher Reeve. What I found, after meeting people with paralysis or AIDs, was that they seemed happier than I was:

Disability and depression —a false link

“Some people who are profoundly disabled are not depressed—while others are very depressed but not physically disabled at all,” Dr. Minden said. Research has shown no correlation between depression and an individual’s degree of disability.

“What makes a person depressed seems to relate to a host of factors,” Dr. Minden explained. “These include genetics, individual coping styles, past and present experiences, and what sorts of social supports a person has. But while we don’t yet know how depression originates, we do know how to treat it.”

Depression and Multiple Sclerosis - National MS Society

In the late Christopher Reeve's book Still Me, his initial reaction to his severe, sudden paraylsis was to kill himelf, but he got over that fairly quickly. Hopefully, you will feel better once the shock wears off and the routine nature of everyday life comes back. (Of course, in comparison to Reeve's injury-related quadriplegia, most people with MS do not become severely disabled.)

Related: 9 Myths about Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple Sclerosis and Your Emotions
Have you been recently diagnosed with MS? - MS Society of Australia
Yahoo: Multiple Sclerosis Organizations - Australia