b'Life with MSMy Mental Health and MSBy Devin Garelit Multiple sclerosis is a disease that can cause which is essentially the wiring of our body,a wide variety of symptoms. Many of the which is why there are so many ways we cancommon ones get a decent amount of attention, be aected. These attacks leave us with lesionssuch as fatigue, pain, cognitive dysfunction, (damage) in our brains. This is important toand mobility issues. Theres one byproduct of note because this damage is a physical changeMS though that doesnt get nearly the attention that happens in our brains, and this is whatit deserves: the eect the disease has on mental makes us depressed. So many people thinkhealth.Ivebeendiagnosedwithmultiple of depression as simply feeling sad, but its sosclerosis for close to 20 years, and I also grew much more than thatits a physical issue,up living and helping care for a grandfather one that should be taken seriously. You canwho suered from the disease. MS has been have trouble walking because the disease hasa part of my life since I was a very young physically damaged parts of the nervous systemchild and Im here to tell you that this disease related to being able to walk, so too can youhas a major eect on mental health. suer from depression because that area ofThere is often a stigma when it comes to your brain is aected. Helping people realizediscussing mental health, one that I hope we this physical aspect is important, because Iare slowly eroding. Mental health is every bit think it helps drive away stigma. If youd go toas important, if not more so, than every other a physical therapist to help your walking, thenMS symptom, yet it is rarely discussed openly. you should be willing to go to a mental healthStudies suggest that those with MS are 50 professional to help you with depression.percent more likely to suer depression than Its not always the disease directly causingthose without the disease and the risk of these changes in our brains; sometimes thesuicide is 7.5 times higher than the general stress of life events can aect our brains aspopulation. Numbers like that are staggering well. While I was diagnosed when just 21, Iand show the importance of the topic. They stilllivedafairlyfunctionallifeformanyalso illustrate that its a far more common years. I nished school, started a career, andproblem than most people like to admit. lived a pretty good life when MS exacerbationsIts no surprise to me that mental health werent sidelining me. Eventually the damageis such an issue for those with MS. When you done in all those relapses led to a level ofstop and think about it, it makes a lot of sense. disability that made me unable to stay in myOurdiseaseattacksournervoussystem, chosen career. Whether it was the diseasemsfocusmagazine.org 52'