It’s officially a week into the 2023 holiday season. While I have seen some heartwarming stories about giving and the true spirit of the holiday and humankind, I also am a little amazed at how many stories I am seeing about stress and the fact that people are so stressed out that they can’t enjoy the holiday season. I hope that anyone reading this can find at least a few things to enjoy this season.
I attended a NMSS webinar back in June that focused a lot on mental health and MS. Depression is the most common mental health diagnosis in MS, with a lifetime risk for a major depressive disorder of 50-60%. That is over half of us with the disease. Anxiety is 3 times more common for people with MS.
I’ve seen it and used to not only be really stressed out at times, but also hold that stress within my body – not good and I believe it made my MS much worse that it should have been. The proof was a couple of relapses every year until I really focused to cut stress way back.
Living with MS adds a whole different layer of stress to our physical, energy and even spiritual bodies. The daily stress of the disease that can be a weight on our energy. Questions like when the next relapse may be, if that numbness or tingle is a relapse starting or something else, can I make it through this event without falling asleep, where can I find time in the holidays to rest can plague your mind.
Above, I said used to be stressed out a lot. I’ve learned how to not carry the stress within my body and it’s helped me in many ways. Outside of no MS relapses for almost 10 years, I feel physically lighter because I’m not personalizing my stress and just letting each day and minute come as it will be. It’s not easy to let that control we think we have over our lives go — but, we see it in our bodies.
There are many techniques to combat stress. I find energy meditation and moving really helps me, as well as breathing and coming back to my true nature. Mindful breathing and focus also are great tools.
I hope you can join one of my classes, where I can teach you some additional ways to combat stress every day – simple things like breathing.
For example, take a look at this falling snow while taking a full inhale and exhale. Notice how you feel after 12 seconds of mindfulness. Let me know what you felt in the comments below.
Hope to see you in a class soon!