b'Symptom ManaDementCCooppiinnggWWiitthhAAnnxxiieettyyiinnMMuullttiipplleeSScclleerroossiissFive ways to deal with emotional stressBy Amy B. Sullivan, Psy.D., ABPPMultiple sclerosis is a disease that has both difficulty controlling worry, fear, andphysical and emotional symptoms. Emotional apprehension.Physiologicalsymptomsofsymptoms such as stress, anxiety, worry, fear, anxiety can include butteries in the stomach,frustration, and depression are common, and increased heart rate, rapid breathing, cognitivecan be both a reaction to the disease and a complaints, fatigue, and more. symptom of the disease. Additional reasons If you nd that you are noticing symptomswhyanindividualwithMSmayhave of anxiety, it is important to learn to cope withneuropsychiatric symptoms include the MS it, as excess stress and anxiety can lead to worsedisease course, a reaction to a disease-modifying MS disease outcomes, overall poorer physicaltherapy, or a biologically mediated reaction/ health, and diculty in both relationships andpathophysiology.everyday function. Here are some suggestionsCoping with the uncertainty of the disease to help cope with anxiety. is one of the major challenges of MS, and 1. Recognize symptoms and seek professionalboth anxiety and depression are amongst the help: First and most importantly, if you ndmost common complaints. They are seen at that your anxiety has aected your dailya higher rate in people with MS than in the function or that you cannot cope with itgeneral population. Anxiety, specically, is alone, please seek help. There are manyreported in approximately 43 percent of MS trained mental health professionals, whopatients and, for the person experiencing it, practice cognitive behavioral therapy andanxiety can be exhausting and very dicult teach stress management skills. These skillsto manage.can help to enhance your coping strategies.Given the high prevalence of anxiety in By learning coping skills and stressthe MS population, it is striking that only 34 management, there is reason for condencepercent of those who experience debilitating that MS disease outcomes are more positive.anxiety have been diagnosed. Of those Checkout#NormalizeNotStigmatizeondiagnosed, 52 percent were not being treated. Twitter to nd tweets about mental healthAdditionally, studies have shown that people issues specic to MS.with MS and anxiety were more likely to be 2. Get outside: Do you ever notice that youdepressed, drink to excess, and have suicidal feel happier and have less stress when youthoughts.are outside with nature? Test it out andAnxiety looks and feels dierent to each experiment for yourself. Take it one stepperson, but common emotional symptoms further and practice skills of mindfulness,include excessive nervousness or worry, or being in the moment. Try this: when youmsfocusmagazine.org 26'