Oh I'm a moaning Michael again! I have tonsillitus but have also picked up some virus as well. I feel very "bunged up" in my head so am less than constructive right now. I've gotten better at taking my vitamins too though, so maybe this is illness will get me into a better habit. I take Naudicelle Plus, which is a mixture of Vitamin D and Evening Primrose Oil. I started taking these tablets just after my diagnosis so I can't say whether they work or not, but it can't hurt to take them... even if they are the size of my thumb and I have to take six a day!!!!!
I've had a bit of a tough couple of weeks emotionally too. Just as I feel an improvement in my mood, I hit a brick wall again. It got me thinking about Elisabeth Kubler- Ross'
Five Stages of Grief. I remember studying this in college in the actual context of grief during a terminal illness or after a bereavement, but it can absolutely translate to grief after being diagnosed with an illness like Multiple Sclerosis, as you are grieving for the life you had before diagnosis.
As you can see from the illustration, the stages are denial, anger, depression, bargaining and acceptance.
They are not the exact emotions that everyone will feel, but more of a framework to help us understand what we may be feeling at any given time in our grief.
These stages are said to be experienced at different times by people experiencing grief, and are not reached in any specific order.
I can definitly see where I've experienced specific emotions from the Five Stages, and I can also see which ones I struggle with and keep coming back to. I don't know if the "Acceptance" stage is easily reached, but I'm going to allow myself to reach them it my own pace and not feel that I need to be okay with this diagnosis now. After all, I am still a newborn in this MS journey.
He even gave me a little mustard coloured card with "twelve months" written in the Appointmemt Date section. I felt like it was my very own Golden Ticket!!!
