When you've been diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, it can seem to turn your world upside down. Hopes and dreams that once seemed so close are suddenly clouded in uncertainty. Depression can overtake even people who once felt as if nothing could stop them in life.
But while multiple sclerosis and depression can go hand-in-hand, it's possible to learn how to manage those emotions. In fact, there are many strategies at your disposal, according to Nora Garland, MSW, LSW, of Penn Medicine's Multiple Sclerosis Center.
Q&A about Multiple Sclerosis
Here are Nora's answers to some important questions about multiple sclerosis and depression.
Q: Is depression more common in multiple sclerosis (MS) patients?
Nora: Yes, there's an increased incidence of depression among people with MS. And there are several different reasons why this is.
First, when people are diagnosed, they can experience a traumatic response and develop depression.
Trauma is a real or perceived danger to yourself or someone else. Being diagnosed with MS is a threat to oneself. This is because there are lots of unknowns: how the disease will develop, how often flare-ups might happen, and more.
Depression can also be part of a person's grieving process. There's a sense of loss with MS. You might be limited in your ability to perform tasks that you took for granted before. In a sense, MS threatens a person's previous identity.
For instance, I met with a woman who was upset that she couldn't go to concerts anymore because she had sensory problems related to her MS and the bright, flashing lights and loud bass bothered her. She felt that she lost the ability to do an activity that she used to enjoy; it was a real sense of loss.
Q: How does the grieving process work when people are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis?
Nora: Grief varies from person to person and often involves a whirlwind of emotions in no particular order.
In order to overcome the loss of an activity that you used to enjoy, you can form a new identity and learn a new normal over time.
For example, the patient I mentioned realized she could still listen to loud concert music with earplugs in and that sunglasses softened the bright lights so that they didn't bother her anymore. So she began planning to go to concerts that way, and is still able to enjoy something she loves, just in a new way.
Q: What treatment do you recommend for patients who are struggling with multiple sclerosis and depression?
Nora: What I recommend is that people consider two different treatment modalities, typically used together: psychotropic medication and talk therapy.
Talk therapy and psychotropic medicines can be a wonderful option for people when they have multiple sclerosis and depression. When we use those treatments together, it really does help people start to "climb out" of their depression, as well as issues with anxiety, which can also contribute to depression.
Once they're feeling better, they can start to move forward with their new life. It's a very powerful moment for them, when they realize they can be happy again.
Penn Medicine's Multiple Sclerosis Center has been designated a National MS Comprehensive Care Center by the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.