Like many with MS, I have my fair share of problems with walking, numbness, spasms, pain, and fatigue. Some of my worst symptoms though, are not physical in nature and fall under the category of emotional and cognitive deficits. I’m talking about mood swings, forgetfulness, and the inability to process information.
Forgetfulness is scary...is it my age or my disease or something else?
Inability for my brain to process information...again, scary. But also makes me feel stupid, limits certain activities, and is just plan annoying.
But, let's focus on the real "elephant in the room"...mood swings.
For those with MS, the frequent and almost instant changing of moods is a symptom that no doubt has a profound effect on many relationships. It is a terrible symptom that many don’t even realize is related to their MS. While these constant emotional changes can be hurtful to those we care about the most, they can also be horrifying for us.
So what are these mood swings I’m talking about? I think of it as a rapid change in thought and emotion that seems to come on instantly - the roller coaster, as my daughter calls it...but it is not a "fun ride", for me or anyone around me. I can go from super happy to super depressed in the blink of an eye! The worst part of this is that it can seem like there is no reason for it all. Other times, the smallest of things, a commercial, a song, even seeing a certain color, can trigger it. It’s not only a matter of being happy and then depressed, pretty much any set of emotions can pop up. Anger, of course, is one of the scarier and more destructive ones. It’s also not always a positive emotion to a negative one, in can be in reverse too. I’m sure I seem awful when I suddenly get angry about something, anything, and everything, but I probably look just as crazy when I go from very angry to super happy and loving the world. The emotions really seem to be all over the place.
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