Getting used to a flare up is tough to do.... especially considering it is different symptoms and severity levels through a lot of the flare ups. I just buckle down and endure the bad times. Knowing the whole time it will eventually be over and I will be back to good health. It would be tough to do if there was no "remission" part of all this
I also keep my self busy and surrounded by people and things I like. I try to find my "comfort zone". Which after last years relapse has turned into my car driving around with the ac full blast and in a sweater lol. I also smoke a lot of marijuana. I feel like that definitely helps my mental state and emotionally.
Now I may seem like I know what I am doing but that is only because I know what NOT to do lol. This time last year I was in a super depression. I was very scared and upset. I did not get an MRI and I was in 100 percent denial. This lasted for a couple months and I can only feel my symptoms were way worse because of the stress, fear, etc. But without that I would not be the person I am today. So far this has only made me a happier, better, and a way more outgoing person..... And trust me when I say I am not naïve. I am ready and willing for whatever this stupid disease wants to do to me.
Once one wraps their brain around this disease and everything else, it doesn't seem as scary or unmanageable.
I know what you mean by feeling helpless. That is why a lot of people do everything they can do that should slow down the progression. We don't have control of what it will do to us but we can control what we eat, how much we exercise, our nutrition, and taking medication. To many, that makes us feel better to know we hopefully are making a difference.
everything feels way more scary and urgent at first. if you do happen to have the low mag levels associated with ms and other chronic diseases, you can make sure you get enough each day.. magnesium is fantastic for relieving anxiety. detailed food source info here: http://www.thisisms.com/forum/general-d ... ml#p230901