MS can cause significant anxiety, distress, anger, and frustration from the moment of its very first symptoms. The uncertainty and unpredictability associated with MS is one of its most distressing aspects. In fact, anxiety is at least as common in MS as depression.
Depression, persistent anxiety and extreme irritability are never “natural” or “normal.” Although very common in people with MS, these changes are as deserving of treatment as any of the physical symptoms of the disease. Changes in mood can be a significant source of pain and distress in and of themselves.
Behavioral changes are common in otherwise mildly affected MS patients with up to one third being affected. In this patient cohort, behavioral changes occur largely independent of disease characteristics, physical disability, and cognitive functioning but correlate with both fatigue and depressive symptoms.
People with multiple sclerosis (MS) feel more than twice as much withheld anger as the general population, but expressed anger levels are similar. Researchers were surprised by the results from the 195 MS patients. They also found that elevated withheld anger levels were not related to the severity of the patients' MS.
Causes of Anger in MS
When the myelin sheath of nerve fibers in these brain regions are damaged or destroyed, nerve signaling is impaired. This can affect the function of the brain region leading to a change in emotional expression, personality, behavior, etc.
MS can cause significant anxiety, distress, anger, and frustration from the moment of its very first symptoms.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is an immune-mediated demyelinating disease of the central nervous system (CNS). Recently, numerous studies have shown that MS disrupts a number of social cognitive abilities, including empathy, theory of mind (ToM), and facial emotion recognition.
Long-term stress can cause physical problems including impaired memory, headaches and high blood pressure. Stress is a normal part of life for everyone, but in addition to facing normal everyday stresses, people with MS have to deal with the unpredictability and pressures the condition itself causes.
Regarding the five-factor model (FFM) that deals with five core dimensions—neuroticism, extraversion, openness, conscientiousness, and agreeableness [10]—MS patients usually show high neuroticism, loss of empathy, and low agreeableness, which are distinctive features of narcissism and histrionism.
Depression can occur in up to 50 percent of MS patients and is three times more common than in the general population. Up to 40 percent of support partners, such as caregivers and spouses, may also experience depression at some point in life.
Psychotic symptoms reported in MS patients include hallucinations and delusions (mostly paranoid), irritability/agitation, sleep disturbance, grandiosity, blunted affect, and rare symptoms like catatonia and transient catalepsy [45].
MS can put a strain on your marriage or long-term relationships. You might need to rely on your partner for care at times, like helping you bathe or driving you to doctor's appointments. This can be stressful for both of you. Make sure you both give and receive love and attention.
Here are some things to avoid: “But you don't look ill.” MS has lots of symptoms you can't see, like fatigue, pain, heat sensitivity or problems with balance, memory, bladder, bowel or eyes. Saying someone doesn't look ill can undermine how they feel.
Numbness of the face, body, or extremities (arms and legs) is often the first symptom experienced by those eventually diagnosed as having MS.
"People with multiple sclerosis report a lower quality of life when compared to people without the disease, and even those with other chronic conditions," said study author Julia O'Mahony, PhD, of the Health Sciences Centre Winnipeg in Winnipeg, Canada.
More than 50% reported limitations in daily activities due to fatigue, physical weakness, problems with balance/coordination, heat/cold sensitivity, memory problems, numbness/tingling, trouble concentrating, impaired movement/muscle stiffness, and impaired sleeping.
People living with MS often continue working long after their diagnosis. On the flip side, some people with MS decide to leave their jobs when they are first diagnosed or experience their first major exacerbation, often at the suggestion of their family or doctor.
Results People with MS showed less adjustment to risk and slower decision-making than controls. Moreover, impaired decision-making correlated with reduced executive function, memory and processing speed. Decision-making impairments were most prevalent in people with secondary progressive MS.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with a higher prevalence of mood and psychiatric disorders, such as bipolar disorder (BD). While mania is most often associated with BD, MS can also induce manic symptoms.
People with primary progressive MS (PPMS) may have progressive memory loss and mild to moderate loss of attention and focus that seems like dementia. These may be due to lesions and reduced blood flow in areas of the brain like the frontal or temporal lobes, as well as the white matter.
It's recommended that people with MS avoid certain foods, including processed meats, refined carbs, junk foods, trans fats, and sugar-sweetened beverages.
Too much stress may worsen your MS symptoms. How to avoid: Find a relaxing, stress-reducing activity that you enjoy. Yoga, meditation, and breathing exercises are all practices that may help reduce stress and eliminate the risk of making symptoms worse.