I'm Back...finally

Having made a start on what I envisaged to be a regular blog and loading my first post several weeks ago with lots of promise of what was to follow, I found myself needing to take, in the sporting vernacular, a medical time out.  While this was a tad  inconvenient, I am happy that it was not related directly to my Multiple Sclerosis and also that I have come to understand the likely cause and that I can do something to prevent it for the future.

As a person with Multiple Sclerosis, I am relatively used now to irregular intrusions of a chronic health condition from time to time and the impact that this can have of your desired daily routine.  Over the 20 years since my diagnosis, I have thought a good deal about how I should respond to these events.  They, for me, are both physical and emotional occurrences.  I have said to people from time to time that MS is "God's gift to control freaks"...a wonderfully pinpoint and insightful way to learn about how to react to circumstance over which you have very minimal control.

For me, the most immediate emotions that rise up at the point of a relapse are sadness and frustration.  If I am not careful, this can also lead to anger about the constraints that the relapse inflicts on me temporarily and possibly in the longer term. However, over time I have come to realise that stepping back and focussing on gratitude for the support that I have around me from family, friends and medical staff, calmness to focus on treatment and recovery process and humour in respect to my temporary physical limitations takes me forward to recovery much more quickly and smoothly.  My family would tell you that I am far from perfect at this, but I do work at it and it does give me some sense of control despite the uncontrollable aspects of MS.

I have recently begun to investigate meditation as a means to strengthen my approach.  As a keen observer and previous participant in sport, I have been fascinated by Brett Kirk, an ex AFL football champion, who harnessed the power of mediation to enhance his football capability and performance.  He has pointed young players to a a book - "The Power of Now" by Eckhart Tolle.  A central tenet of the book is living in the present moment to deal with life's stress.  Clearly, participation in fast paced, elite level football matches can be very stressful and if mediation can assist to aid performance in these circumstances, the same benefits can surely be gained during the onset of an MS relapse.

What I hope to gain is greater calmness, better quality decision making and a better demeanour to benefit both me and those around me.  I will let you know how I go and in the interim, if you have experience of this kind of approach, I  will love to hear about it from you and gain your insights.