Hello - any advice welcome. My MS means i am unable to do much physical exercise. does anyone have any tips for getting rid of anger and frustrations caused by MS and its multitude of seemingly never ending symptoms? I feel angry a lot of the time and fatigue from MS only adds to these feelings. I want to get rid of some of my feelings of anger but I am not keen on counselling or talking therapies and wondered if anyone had any practical advice. Thanks in advance
This is a very tough question, sadly I have no really practical advice. I will share my opinion, which is based upon my experience. I used to become incandescent with rage. It started to affect my relationship with friends and my wife so I had to do something. I too am not a fan of counselling or talking therapies. I eventually picked up the phone and called - https://www.mssociety.org.uk/care-and-support/ms-helpline
As this was anonymous, I found it OK to chat and get some ideas. I also spoke with my MS nurse who explained just how much valuable energy is burned up and wasted by being angry. My anger fed and exacerbated my fatigue. I had to consciously decide to accept my new circumstances and understand that there is little that I can do to change them. I also decided to over celebrate any good bits and make the most of what I can do. For me by reducing my anger I have a lot more energy which kicks off a bit of a positive cycle.
Whichever way you find to get through this I wish you all the best.
Mick
Hi
Good reply from Mogace and his MS nurse. Having the emotion swirling around inside us isn’t great for us, and we need healthy ways to let it out. I wouldn’t be quick to dismiss talking therapies though. Find the right one, someone who can listen well, can be extremely helpful. But I have had times where I needed to do something more forceful (it was actually through talking with someone that helped me with that). So a few things I’d do were to get a cushion or pillow, put it over my mouth and simply scream as loud as |I could into it, sometimes I’d get the pillow and just wallop it as hard as I could a few times against the wall, and I’d even get some an onion or potato, wrap it a few times in a tea towel, put it in a plastic bag and then wallop that against the wall.
Out of interest, how long have you had MS? Many of us can relate to the classic stages of grief as we mourn the loss of our old healthy lives - denial (not that we have MS, but that it will affect us), anger, depression, acceptance (some see acceptance as a negative thing, like giving up, but it’s more about seeing how you can live well within the new limitations we have). So anger is common.
Hope that helps!
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I’ve lost use of legs, bladder and bowel don’t behave and have limited use of
My hands, it happened overnight 5 years ago… the anger and frustration never leave you but you have to find something positive to focus on. I’ve got my horse
And my dogs which keep me grounded. Worth checking medication side effects as well, I’ve had 2 which made me really angry and depressed so came off them! Always worth talking through with your GP or MS nurse xxx
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My friend also had such a period in his life. It is really very difficult to relax and forget about problems but who said it is impossible. So I bought tickets to his favorite artist, where we broke up together. He also took sedatives from [link deleted by moderator] which also helped in many ways. We did all his favorite things, ate his favorite foods and often met with our friends. It really helped us so I think you can also stop being nervous and angry because life is so short!
Hi its normal to be angry but it is bad for ms, I use to have days when I was so angry and depressed but started noticing when I was outside in the countryside my anger didn’t last long because I love beening outside in the countryside so I think you need to try and do something you are passionate about,I started doing mediation insight timer app it’s really helped me to feel more calm and don’t let things bother me as much also I have always been interested in Buddhism so now I listen on insight timer now I have more time thanks to ms!, I still have days when I’m so angry and so fed up with ms (like yesterday) but today I feel a bit more happier, it takes time to adjust to ms.
I’ve used computer games for anger management for years before MS and it’s my go to now like it was before. Nothing like beating up, hacking and slashing or shooting peoples digtal characters to relieve some tension. Despite what the media portray violent video games can be an effective stress relief without making people violent.
Even killing computer controlled enemies work. I just find killing players controled by people works better. Adds a challenge. It’s also a little pick me up when I can beat others even with MS screwing me in the background. 
Plenty of options without over exerting yourself or anything else. Doesn’t have to be shooters and fighting. Driving games work just as well.
Are you on any drugs? Avonex causes anger problems. I had huge anger problems with Avonex I had to come off and it took over two years to recover.
If you’re on Avonex, look up the side effects they don’t tell you about. In the states there are Avinex lawyers would you believe.