I transformed my life after my MS diagnosis

Elise McDonald on how MS stopped her in her tracks and made her change her life for the better

My life changed the day I woke up and immediately knew something wasn’t right. The vision in my left eye was dim – almost like I was wearing sunglasses – but just over one eye. I rubbed at my eyes hoping it would go away but it didn’t – and at that point I started to panic.

I made a doctor’s appointment, and they told me it was some sort of migraine, that I was sleep deprived and my hormones were all over the place as I had not long given birth to my son.

A few months later I was away on holiday and all of a sudden, I got shooting pins and needles in my arms. I kept squeezing my hands together and moving around to get it to stop, but it didn’t. The panic set in again. When I got back, I went to the doctors again. They told me it was probably a trapped nerve, to take ibuprofen and consider a sports massage.

Strange symptoms

I tried massage, acupuncture and osteopathy, but the pins and needles continued. I also noticed that when I walked any distance, I would also get pins and needles in my legs. I had also noticed other weird symptoms – a feeling of water flowing down my back, a sensation like my tongue was burnt, confusion and struggling to find words, and I was exhausted.

At this point I knew something was very wrong and started Googling (which I know you should never do, but I needed answers!).

The results brought up all sorts – from fibromyalgia and lupus to rheumatoid arthritis – but when I added in the issue I had previously with my eye, it seemed to match closely to multiple sclerosis (MS). I went back to the doctors again and demanded answers. This time I had a sympathetic GP who listened to what I was saying and told me he was going to refer me to neurology.

It took two visits to the neurologist (who initially told me it was migraines again!) before I assertively told him something was wrong, and they needed to investigate it. At this point I was so anxious and upset. I just needed answers because I felt like I was going mad!

After an MRI saw lesions on my brain and spine, I was sent for a lumbar puncture which finally confirmed my diagnosis – relapsing remitting MS.

Complete despair

I fell into a spiral of fear and loathing after that, waking every morning wondering whether I would have another relapse. I became more insular and anxious. I barely left the house. I felt so guilty as my son was still small, and I pushed myself to get out with him, but I was a ball of anxiety – worried to be out alone in case something happened to me. I was also having awful spasms in my thighs which would literally stop me in my tracks at the most inopportune of times – the pain was like childbirth. I would immediately need to sit down to stop myself from fainting.

This continued until my son went to nursery. I found myself alone at home and more depressed than ever. But then one day I was scrolling Facebook and I saw a lovely lady with MS doing make up live online. It was so inspiring and looked fun. I messaged her and she told me she was working in network marketing, and I should try it. I needed some sort of positive focus in my life, so I signed up. This was the point that everything changed because the company I worked for was all about personal development – and I threw myself into that world.

A new mindset

I watched YouTube videos, listened to podcasts, read countless books from the likes of Marisa Peer, Joe Dispenza, Eckhart Tolle – and a lot of what I learnt was about the power of the mind and how we can heal ourselves.

I started to look at this more closely. I went for a rapid transformational therapy session, a supercharged version of hypnotherapy, which showed me why MS came into my life. I had spent four years before I had my son working in a highly pressured job which sent me into a spiral of anxiety. But I didn’t tell anyone – I just pushed down my emotions and buried that pain. I remember distinctly saying at my greatest low, “I need to stop this otherwise I am going to make myself chronically ill.” and the mind is amazing because it always does what it thinks you want it to do. I’d made myself ill.

Once I had this understanding, I began to be more accepting of what had happened – and oddly grateful – because getting ill meant I had to give up that job that I hated and had ground me down!

Transforming my life

I started to meditate, practice mindfulness and get out more in the fresh air – walking and being grateful that I was able to – rather than worrying about what might happen. I started to eat better and look after myself. I left a destructive relationship, and suddenly my energy levels increased, and my symptoms improved. I decided MS had held me back for too long – but that it wouldn’t hold me back anymore!

The transformation was incredible, and a few years later I was doing really well. But I was still seeing so many people struggle. So, I made a big life–changing decision to revisit the dream I had 20 years earlier when I graduated with a psychology degree, to train as a therapist. I signed up to train in rapid transformational therapy as I had such great results from my session. That was almost five years ago now and I haven’t looked back!

I now work full-time running a busy hypnotherapy practice. I talk about my journey to wellness on YouTube and other social media, and juggle it around looking after my 10 year old son. I work with a lot of people with chronic health conditions now to help them get well, too.

Life is so different now – I would never have dreamed of living the life I have now. Seven years on from diagnosis, I am stable, and my last MRI scan actually showed an improvement in the existing lesions. I really do believe that I healed myself because I chose to get myself well.

The mind is an amazing thing. I can see now that I was unwell for so long because I was living in despair. But once I decided that MS wouldn’t take over my life, it gave me back my power. It’s much more than just being positive, but having that positive mindset was the first step to getting me on the path to wellness again!

If you’d like to know more about my story, journey to wellness and rapid transformational therapy visit, makeupyourmindset.godaddysites.com

makeupyourmindset.godaddysites.com