I am sure I am not alone in saying that when my mood is low and, for example, something stressful has happened in the family, then my MS symptoms elevate no end. Very often leaving me confined to bed.
When my mood is lifted then my MS symptoms are so much easier to handle.
The only problem I seem to have is that some of my friends don’t seem to realise how bad I feel when I have a smile on my face. Some of them seem to think if I am smiling or god forbid laughing then I am well.
I couldn’t agree more. During the last 2 years I’ve feel like I’ve been to hel* and back, leading up to and Dx, the one thing I’ve not lost though is my sense of humour, sometimes it has been tested to the limit though. I worked out quite quickly that being miserable does not help. Keep smiling, it confuses the enemy! - as the saying goes.
It’s a lifelong illness - you can’t just give up laughing on the day you’re diagnosed - particularly if you did before, and it’s part of your personality.
It’s not just laughing it’s everything. Some friends - one in particular - think I’m “well” if I comb my hair and wear lipstick. For goodness sake - I’m not dead yet! Am I supposed to look as if I’m going to my own funeral? Ill people don’t have to wear sacks and throw away all their make up and jewellery. And that’s just the blokes!
I have a friend who I’m appreciating more and more every day - she always makes me laugh with her facebook updates etc.
She’s a burlesque performer & pole performer and has also done stand-up… she has a show called the naked stand-up and she did exactly that! I’m gutted I never had the chance to see it. She was comparing at a pole show I went to a few months ago and mid-show she was walking close to where I was sitting and she stopped and over the microphone greeted me warmly and I was introduced to the whole audience as someone who had been a fabulous dancer and was loved & missed by the community - that made me feel very special too
Anyway, stopping there as sleeeepy! Humour and warmth is much loved tho.
Indeed - a positive attitude won’t solve everything, but it will annoy enough people to make the effort worthwhile.
As for music - anything from Anthrax to Vivaldi and all manner of other stuff beside. Anything by Pentatonix either together or individually is good, also Peter Hollens, Lindsey Stirling, Imogene Heap, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift etc. Going to see Pentatonix live in April (birthday present) - silly grin on face typing that last bit! Also like TOFG (Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts) the band that Russell Crowe sings with. Even sillier grin on face remembering playing “You Treat Me Like Chocolate” to test the PA system at work.
Lets carry on with the laughter - lt comes under the heading ‘Treatment and Therapies’ and also ‘Emotional Support’ so well within the catagories stipulated.
i couldn’t agree more spacejacket, laughter is therapeutic and supportive, and yes who’s forum is it. like so many others on here, i’m dealing with chronic pain, laughing reduces pain (so does swearing, but i don’t need any help with that ).
this isn’t just any forum… this is an MS forum! i admit, that’s a joke(ish)
xx
ps. i’ve been listening to a fair bit of alanis morrisette and radiohead these last few days.
Laughter also helps family and friends around me. Their knowing I can still laugh with all the pain and tears behind closed doors, helps them and me cope. It is far more important to any kind of medication.
When the laughter stops then the tears and sadness begin.
Keep laughing and smiling for as long as you can my little maties.