Support for MS - Be Around Others Who Get It
This blog article is dedicated to a very important aspect of MS that is often not discussed enough - mental health. It’s no secret the challenges of living with MS (or any chronic illness) are not just physical, it’s mental too. TBH sometimes I find the mental and emotional ups and downs harder to handle, but it doesn’t have to be that way!
Therapy can be beneficial in that it can ease depression and anxiety, provide tools to manage emotions, improve coping skills and improve quality of life. The key is finding the right type of therapy and the right therapist.
It can be hard to find folks who get what living with an illness is like, which can make finding support difficult. But, I have the perfect person to introduce to y’all…
Hannah Young at Chosen Growth Therapy
(click the image below to be redirected to her website)
Before I get into more details, I want to preface this by saying in no way is this an ad. I met Hannah on social media as a newly diagnosed person with MS who also happens to be a psychotherapist and an art therapist - what a beautiful combo!! Plus, I know how beneficial therapy with someone who truly gets it can be, which is why I am sharing the work she does.
Here is a note from Hannah and more info about groups she is planning - please fill out the form if you are interested!
Hello LIFT community! My name is Hannah Young, I am a Registered Psychotherapist and Professional Canadian Art Therapist; who just so happens to also have MS.
My goal is to merge those two very large parts of my life so I can use the skills and knowledge I have to help the community I am a part of. Being a therapist with MS comes with the added bonus of GETTING IT. Weird confusing symptoms? I understand. The terror of that first year or longer? Yuuuup, been there myself.
Point being, we're in this together!
I have been practicing therapy since 2019 and I was diagnosed with Relapsing Remitting MS three years ago in May of 2023. I see clients through my virtual clinic, Chosen Growth. Which I named before all of the MS stuff entered my life, but I think the name still works well.
We all collectively got hit with the diagnosis brick in the face that is MS. How we choose to grow from there is up to us, even when other things are out of our control.
So… what does that growth look like? Growing, healing, accepting, and yes, even thriving? It's an individual journey, but that doesn't mean it has to be done alone. Community is the best advice I can give and it is the advice I am giving now.
Find your people.
My local MS group was a game changer for me. I am referring to the one run through MS Canada where people in my hometown get together and be social. I reached out on facebook and learned they were meeting at a coffee shop near my house. I thought, ehh… I'll try it, but if I go and it’s not what I want I’ll just grab a cup of tea and leave. I stayed.
I ended up finding something I didn't understand that I needed, a community. We forget each other's names, we drop sentences half way through a story or explanation, sometimes we don’t show up and don’t have to make excuses. The beauty of that? No one minds. We all do it, and together, for us, it’s normal.
We joke and laugh and make light of MS some days and other days have serious in-depth conversations about long term disability, symptoms, neurologists and so on. Sometimes we talk about anything and everything BUT MS. But we know that these are our people and if no one else in our lives gets it, they do.
Having this group of people has made my life so much better. I didn’t know how much it would mean to me until I found it. The group is a resting place. Yes, it’s social and outside of the house, but it is a different kind of rest. It’s a peace in knowing I’m not alone. An oasis from those damn healthy people who just don’t quite understand.
So! I want to be part of that on a larger scale. I want to bring that peace to more people and be part of the larger community. This is why I reached out to the lovely Sam, having watched her livestreams and received this very newsletter since before my diagnosis. I know there is a huge community of us brought here together already and I want to help expand on that.
I am putting together several virtual groups, with you all being the first to hear about it! As you are the first, there are no dates or times set yet. I want to hear back from the community and see what the most wanted days and times are and I will start there.
Biweekly hang out group (Zoom)
Come hang out for a couple of hours, chat and chill as a group. I will facilitate the meeting but won’t lead therapy for this one, it’s casual and social.
Weekly or biweekly 90 minute therapy groups (through my virtual clinic website, Jane)
Smaller groups of up to ten participants where we will dig into some of the deeper stuff using art making as an additional tool.
Individual 60 minute sessions through my clinic.
We can dive into more than MS on a deeper personal level.
I am also looking into starting up a discord server where everyone can stay in touch and chat.
Please let me know what you would be interested in by filling in this quick form - Click here
I hope to stay connected and meet more fellow MS-ers!
*In case you are wondering, Hannah is based in Canada and she can work internationally. That said, if you are using insurance, it is at your insurance company’s discretion whether they will pay for it or not. All you have to do is check with them - it doesn’t hurt to ask!
Here is the pricing so you have all the information you need when filling out the google form
Biweekly Hang Out Group: Free
90 Min Therapy Group: $50
60 Min Individual Therapy: $165 (again, your insurance may reimburse, but check with them to know for sure!)
If you have any questions for Hannah, email her at hannah@chosengrowth.ca
