Stranger in the mirror

Alongside the physical changes in your body, getting diagnosed with MS can really mess with your mind. I found myself constantly drained and tired. Getting extra sleep didn’t help. The changes in my cognition crept in gradually and one day I woke up and didn’t recognise the person staring back at me in the mirror.

My cognition changes

I started forgetting basic things. Calculating simple numbers became a huge challenge. The things I enjoyed in the past lost their meaning. And I didn’t know how to explain the changes happening to me.

I felt like my personality changed completely, and my friends and family didn’t know how to relate to me. I didn’t even know the new person I’d become.

Being kind to yourself

When feeling like this, I think it’s important to be kind to yourself. To accept that these changes have come and you can only live life as best as you can. 

It’s very important to learn to love the new you before expecting friends and family to.

Learning to love the new you will be different for everyone. I decided to change my diet completely. I started listening to my body, so when I need to shut down I do just that. I make sure I keep physically active. And the days I can’t do much physically, I don’t feel bad about it. I realise it’s okay to say NO when I’m uncomfortable with any decision.

Friends and family

I accepted that not everyone will understand my journey and I don’t hold it against them.

It's also very important not to hold onto anger towards friends and family. Life's too short.

For anyone reading this who’s living with MS - I hope my blog post encourages you to be intentional about getting to know - and love - that ‘stranger’ staring back at you in the mirror.