Help with worrying when you have MS

Counsellor Jas Sembhi looks at ways to manage your worry

Clients often talk about the worries they have around their multiple sclerosis (MS) diagnosis. This could include worries around their MS progressing, worries around finances or worries about the impact on relationships.

It can be easy for these worries to spiral – for example if the initial worry is ‘my symptoms are not improving,’ this may lead into a spiral of ‘what ifs’ around the future.  Some of these ‘what ifs’ may be quite upsetting, especially if these include thoughts around how much your condition could progress.

Set aside worry time

It can be helpful to look at how these worries can be managed. One way to do this is to set aside a time during the day when you can focus on what it is that is worrying you.

It might be helpful to write a list so that you can look at and explore each worry to see which ones you are able to do something about. It does not have to be the case that you work through all your worries in one go, but instead focus on the ones that you really need to address right now. Physically seeing that you are working through your worries may help you to feel more positive.

Then there are the worries that may be around the ‘what if’s’ of the future – with these worries it may be helpful to talk these through with someone, perhaps a counsellor to help you process your feelings and emotions around these.

Night-time worries

Setting aside this time to worry can be particularly helpful at night-time. During the day your mind may be focused on other things, for example work or family, and the worries may be bubbling away underneath the surface.

At night when there are no other distractions these worries may come to the forefront of your mind. It can be helpful at this point to ask yourself if what you are worrying about can wait until the next day for you to work through? And if so, to remind yourself of this each time the worry appears, and that right now what is important is for you is to get some sleep so that you are fully rested for the day ahead.

It may be helpful to practise some mindfulness and relaxation exercises, so you are focusing on what is important right now.

You can also plan a time for when you will focus on this worry so that you are able to sleep knowing that you have set this aside. This kind of self-talk may take time to stop you from focusing on your worries at night-time, especially if you have been doing this for a long time – but the more you practise this, the easier it may become.