Wellness is a dynamic state of physical, emotional, spiritual, and social well-being that can be achieved even in the presence of a chronic illness or disability. For a person living with MS, the road to wellness involves more than treatment of the disease. Equally important are health promotion and prevention strategies, satisfying personal relationships, a strong support network, fulfilling work and leisure activities, a meaningful place in the community, and adequate attention to one's inner self. Family members and caregivers also need to pay attention to their own health and well-being. In order to offer the best possible care and support to someone else, it is important to make sure that one’s own needs are being addressed
Exercise Your Way To Wellness:
Exercise is a key component of your overall healthcare strategy, but that doesn’t mean you need to be a super athlete to enjoy the benefits. Studies show that moderate aerobic exercise improves cardiac health, stamina, and mood, and helps manage symptoms like fatigue, weakness, and bladder and bowel difficulties. Stretching exercises—whether done on your own or with a helper—can relieve stiffness and improve your flexibility and mobility. Learn more about good ways to get yourself moving—and have fun while you’re doing it.
Eating Healthy to Take Charge of Your Health:
While no diet can cure or prevent MS, a balanced, low-fat, high fiber diet promotes healthy bowel function and helps you be in the best possible shape to deal with whatever challenges MS brings your way. Get the facts about nutrition and MS—including the role of vitamins, minerals, and herbs—and find some hints for keeping your weight where you’d like it to be.
Managing Stress to Feel Your Best:
In spite of a great deal of research, the exact relationship between stress and the onset or progression of MS remains unclear. What is clear, however, is that too much stress doesn’t make anyone feel better. The key to dealing with the stresses of everyday life is to eliminate those that are not essential and learn how to manage the ones that help make life interesting and challenging.
Managing When You Have MS and Something Else:
Even with the best of care, people with MS are sometimes faced with unrelated health problems—from allergies or another autoimmune disease to cancer or cardiac problems. Dealing with a double whammy means getting the diagnoses sorted out, gathering the necessary information, mobilizing your support system, and working with your medical specialists to coordinate the various aspects of your care.
Pregnancy and Reproductive Issues:
Women and men with MS can be loving, successful parents of healthy, happy children. Read the good news about MS and conception, pregnancy, childbirth, and breastfeeding, and find out why most women with MS feel so good while they are pregnant. Get answers to your questions about the use of medications during pregnancy, the role of genetics, and how MS does—and does not—affect parenting activities.
Affordable Accessible Housing
When it comes to living well with MS, accessible affordable housing can be critical to maintaining independence and remaining engaged in the community. Whether seeking to renegotiate a mortgage, arrange home modifications, apply for rental vouchers, or explore affordable assisted living; navigating the maze of agencies and funding sources supporting these alternatives and services can be daunting. The Society’s Affordable Accessible Housing: A Guide for People with MS (.pdf) helps evaluate housing needs and better understand the range of housing options available to people living with MS.
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