Practicing Positivity- A Coping Strategy or Denial?
Practicing positive thinking can be an effective coping strategy as long as it's not used to avoid dealing with hard things. What do you think?https://mswellnessproject.com/practicing-positivity-a-coping-strategy-or-denial/
, I agree! And you bring up an EXCELLENT point that positive thinking should never turn into toxic positivity or a way to avoid dealing with hard stuff. Sometimes, you just have to acknowledge that a situation just plain stinks. But, trying to maintain a positive attitude can be quite helpful! Thanks for bringing this up and I hope it leads to a lively and productive discussion here. Best, Erin, MultipleSclerosis.net Team Member. Thank you! It seems to be a tricky subject to talk about so I tried to acknowledge and talk about the different points of view. I am naturally optimistic but sometimes it's hard! Thanks for your thoughts!
I have always been an upbeat type, no matter what was going on in my life. I denied nothing, but ignored lots. With MS, there is no possibility of denial. With PPMS, anyone can see the obvious, so denying it is useless. I never denied the issues over the years before it turned to PPMS, trying to find a doctor to tell me what the hell is wrong with me was an exercise in futility When I moved to Alberta 24 years ago, my new doctor told me it was probably emotional. After two years I got mad and told him to send me to someone that could help me. He finally sent me to a sports doctor telling her I had muscle issues so she put me with her PT. It took the PT all of ten minutes to determine it was neuro, not muscle related. The doctor sent me to neuro and within a week I had two MRIs one on my brain and one on my spine. There it was and by that time it had already progressed to PPMS. Dealing with it is hard sometimes, but I am still pretty much upbeat. I am stubborn and still doing my best to be independent. I also realize that as I get older, and I am already old, just turned 74, it will not get better and I don't look forward to that, but in the meantime I push myself basically to satisfy myself.
You always brighten my day,
. I hope you are enjoying the weekend! - Lori (Team Member)
How frustrating that must have been to get a proper diagnosis and treatment! Like you, I never denied having MS but in the beginning, I did ignore my symptoms as much as I could. I'm also for the most part upbeat. I just feel it doesn't help me if I let myself get too down by the day-to-day struggles. Life is too short, so I intend to enjoy mine if I can. Thank you for sharing your story!
Me too Traci, my husband and I both have issues of our own, but we don't wallow in it. We both are pretty upbeat and we try to belly laugh at least once a day. Doesn't solve my mobility issues, but the laughing is good for both of us. Take care and always look up, not down!
Well, they say laughter is the best medicine!
