Hi I am recently diagnosed and I have noticed over the last month or so that I can get really emotional and angry over things. There is a lot of things happening at work that I would probably (in the past) have just let go, but now it just makes me mad. And on the other side there are things happening that i should be furious about, but it just makes me roll my eyes and get on with it. I think that maybe, I just havent come to terms with diagnosis and what the future may bring. I want a sense of normality but I dont know how to get a grip on it. Anyone have any advice? Anita x
Dealing with diagnosis is really tough 
People often compare it to suffering a bereavement because we kind of have - the death of who we thought we were, who we thought we would be. There are lots of paths through it, but we tend to find our own. Mine involved a lot of reading and a little bit of counselling. My counsellor helped me to face my fears, and to realise that they may never happen - MS is so variable, we cannot know what is in store for us - what a waste of time and energy it would be if I spent years worrying about something that never happened! She also helped me to realise that even if my worst fears happened, there were a load of meds, organisations, treatment, people and equipment to help me cope - and that I would do just that - I would cope; I would be OK. So here I am 13/14 years later. My two worst fears still haven’t happened. They still might, but I’m not going to be wasting too much of my time worrying about them. Interestingly, they don’t hold the same fear for me now anyway. I guess familiarity breeds contempt even in this situation. I still have times when it gets to me. We all do. But, overall, my life is good. Changes happen to us all. MS is a whopper, but that’s no reason that we can’t adapt and move on. Accepting MS, and all of the above, didn’t happen overnight for me. So I would say take your time. Talk, don’t bottle it up. You’ll get there. And if you’re struggling, then ask for help. Your GP can refer you to a counsellor or you can see if there is a counsellor based at an MS Therapy Centre near you. It can be a massive relief to off load to someone who doesn’t “matter”, who we can’t hurt or scare, who won’t judge. Most of all, forgive yourself. It’s not your fault this happened. It’s not your fault that you are finding things difficult. Sometimes life just sucks Karen x
Hi Anita, I completely agree with everything that Karen has said in her reply. Receiving a diagnosis is a big deal - life changing really. When I received my own dx I honestly thought that I was okay with it - but that soon changed when things started speeding up! Things like discussing medications, dmd’s and the various services & support that were available. That, for me was when reality hit! For a while it really ‘got me’ and I didn’t know which way to turn - plus of course as much as others say they understand, how can they unless they’ve been through a similar thing? Things DO get better, you may not think so now but they do. At the end of the day do what is right for you and take your time in getting your head round stuff. Make the most of the services and support available too. Mail me anytime if you need to chat & good luck Debbie xx