Hi i am 28 years old was diagnosed with ms 3 years ago just came out of the blue i eventually was able to walj with crutches but since july last year i am in a wheelchair struggling still coming to terms with have ms i used to be a happy go luck person worked as much as i could and help anyone that needed help kind of a jack of all trades but struggling to find my purpose in life dont have any friends or relatives that know ablout ms so trying to reach out to people that i can relate to.
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Well you’ve come to the right place, I think you’ll find plenty of support on here. Sorry to hear about how things are going for you, it takes some getting used to, but you will in time, I’ve been diagnosed for nearly 17yrs, I have progressive MS, so there’ always something new happening for me. anyway look, come on here for some friendly advice, to cry, scream and laugh, take care.
Jean
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Hi Dreilly. Really really sorry to hear that you are having such a hard time. My sympathies to you. By inclination if I have problems of any sort I just try and grab any and all the support I can get, although having said that it did take me a while to tell people I had MS. Have you looked around for any local MS Groups ? I’ve avoided them simply because I might find it a bit depressing but that’s just me and I know that some people do appreciate them . Apparently they do talk about MS and what it means but it’s also just a place for folk with MS to socialise - I think some of them have regular meets and social events. You might find one on the relevant section of this website.
In terms of finding a new purpose in life, that’s a hard one and something I’ve faced. I will think about it and send you another reply on that !
All the best
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It might be worth taking a look at Shift.ms, as they tend to have a younger membership over there.
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Thoughts about finding a purpose in life. It might seem simplistic, and it’s taken a long time for me to come to terms with the idea, but I think purpose in life for MSers has to be focussing on our own health, happiness and well-being. Many years ago I drew out a diagram with a ‘hub’ representing myself and spokes coming from the hub and representing things/ aspects of life that were important to me and my life whether it be finances, friends, holidays, hobbies etc etc. Attached to each spoke I listed things I wanted to do - e.g. call meet important friends once a week, ( maybe find a way of explaining MS to a few?), another spoke had places I wanted to visit (the list of places I am able to visit has shrunk so I’ve had to lower my ambitions). And so on. I spent some time thinking seriously through ‘what is important’ to me and my health, wealth and happiness .
Also, I know from my own experience that a diagnosis of MS can lead to a fairly long period of mourning and grief. I think it’s important to spend time being kind to myself and in a way just letting myself open up to myself about feelings of sadness, loss etc. But also being equally kind in thinking about what makes me happy and how can I help myself feel happy. While I can, what are the places, experiences that I would love.
Hope all this makes some sort of sense?
I suppose that basically ‘be kind and good friends to ourselves’ ?
All the best
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