I feel angry most of the time or tired

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What you're describing sounds like depression, which is a common comorbidity with MS. My depression manifests in one of three ways: I'm weepy, I'm withdrawn, or I'm angry and crabby. Depression can be situational (a reaction to an adverse event), or systemic (physiologically or psychologically based). In our case, it's typically systemic and physiological - a physical disease that affects our mood.

When I'm depressed I always forget to take time to get out of my own head. I am my own worst friend when I'm depressed, hanging around with myself just makes me crabbier. But, when I force myself to have coffee with a friend, write an email to someone, or just hang out with my neighbor's dog, I feel a little less owly. Sometimes, for me at least, just the novelty of doing something different make me feel better.

If you're interested, I have a metric tonne of coping mechanisms I've honed over the last 20 years of fighting with depression. Let me know if you wanna chat more. And remember, depression is not a dirty word, it's something we have to deal with just like spasticity, incontinence, pain, and vision issues.

Hi . You are far from alone. gives you some great advice here. Depression can often be the root of anger, especially for people with chronic illnesses. You have a lot to be angry about and a right to be angry, but too much anger isn't healthy, socially or physically. Some people need help preventing those valid emotions from taking over and therapy or medication can help. However, MS anger might have other causes as well. The damage to the nerves can lead to sensory issues that make the small and most innocent of things incredibly irritating. It can also effect the nerves that control anger, messing with your wiring and making you feel angry when there is no cause. Have you talked with your neurologist about this? Your post reminded me of this wonderful article about MS anger written by one of our advocates: https://multiplesclerosis.net/living-with-ms/just-stop-it-short-fuses. I hope this helps and that you get more input from the community. Best wishes. - Lori (Team Member)

I'm sorry to hear that, . I understand what it's like to have mood swings and for them to cause anger. It's been an issue for me over the years and really developed the longer I had MS. You are definitely not alone when it comes to mood swings (https://multiplesclerosis.net/living-with-ms/invisible-symptoms-mood-swings), they can be difficult, and I think it's very important to discuss the issue with friends and family, to help them understand that you don't want to be this way. Communicaiton is extremely important. One more thing I should mention is that anger, particularly in men, is one way that the symptom of depression shows itself: https://multiplesclerosis.net/living-with-ms/depression-anger-sleep