MS can cause significant anxiety, distress, anger, and frustration from the moment of its very first symptoms. The uncertainty and unpredictability associated with MS is one of its most distressing aspects. In fact, anxiety is at least as common in MS as depression.
Psychiatric manifestations have a high prevalence in MS patients and may worsen the illness progression and the patients' quality of life (QoL). Depression is a highly prevalent condition in MS patients, associated with poorer adherence to treatment, decreased functional status and QoL, and increased suicide risk.
While many with MS will experience depression or anxiety at some point, more rarely, some people experience changes to their emotions or behaviour that don't seem to make sense, or that they aren't able to control.
Some people experience difficulties when making plans and solving problems. They know what they want to do but find it difficult to know where to begin, or find it difficult to work out the steps involved to achieve their goals. This can lead to confusion and stress, which in turn can hamper learning and memory.
Psychotic symptoms reported in MS patients include hallucinations and delusions (mostly paranoid), irritability/agitation, sleep disturbance, grandiosity, blunted affect, and rare symptoms like catatonia and transient catalepsy [45].
Studies have shown that MS disrupts several social cognitive abilities [including empathy and theory of mind (ToM)]. Overall ToM deficits in MS are well documented, but how the specific ToM subcomponents and empathic capacity are affected remains unclear.
People with MS and their partners tell us living with the condition can create both physical and emotional barriers, which can put a strain on relationships. For some couples, worries about MS and uncertainty about the future can cause a breakdown in communication and intimacy.
Commonly cited MS personality changes include social inappropriateness, disinhibition, apathy, emotional lability, and impulsivity. Despite the prevalence of mood/anxiety disorders and personality changes in MS, no studies have thoroughly examined the relationship between these constructs.
Study participants with MS were compared to a control group. The researchers found that people with MS were more likely to be angry (trait anger), have a higher intensity of anger (state anger), and express anger either outwardly or inwardly, as compared to the control group.
Slowed cognitive processing speed and episodic memory decline are the most common cognitive deficits in MS, with additional difficulties in executive function, verbal fluency, and visuospatial analysis.
Psychosis in the context of multiple sclerosis (MS) has previously been reported as a rare occurrence. However, recent epidemiological studies have found prevalence rates of psychosis in MS that are two to three times higher than those in the general population.
Multiple sclerosis itself is not usually lethal, but it can increase the risk of long-term complications, such as infections or trouble swallowing, that can potentially shorten survival. On average, longevity is about five to 10 years shorter in people with MS.
The severity of symptoms of depression as well as anxiety disorder was associated significantly with higher MG severity. The numbers of symptoms of depression and possible PTSD was almost three to eight times higher in patients with high MG severity compared to low (39.0% vs. 14.4% in symptoms of depression; 8.2% vs.
Most people with MS can expect to live as long as people without MS, but the condition can affect their daily life. For some people, the changes will be minor. For others, they can mean a loss of mobility and other functions.
Numbness or Tingling
Numbness of the face, body, or extremities (arms and legs) is often the first symptom experienced by those eventually diagnosed as having MS.
Early symptoms can include vision problems, trouble walking, and tingling feelings. MS affects people differently. But common problems are trouble with movement and thinking, and bowel and bladder incontinence.
Chronic illness has a harmful effect on marriages, as a study at the University of Michigan found. Researchers found that not only did 31 percent of marriages involving at least one sick partner result in a divorce, but the risk of separation for older couples was higher when the wife was sick, rather than the husband.
Dating someone with MS, or being in a relationship with them, can be a source of happiness and contentment. However, the condition can also be challenging, meaning people may need to adapt their approach to spending quality time together, intimacy, and maintaining an emotional connection.
MS can affect sexual function both directly and indirectly. Direct effects of MS include demyelinating lesions in the brain and spinal cord that cause sensory, motor or autonomic dysfunction such as difficulty achieving and maintaining an erection, vaginal lubrication, and orgasm.
Multiple sclerosis (MS) is associated with a higher prevalence of mood and psychiatric disorders, such as bipolar disorder (BD). While mania is most often associated with BD, MS can also induce manic symptoms.
Multiple sclerosis can take a toll on all your relationships. If your symptoms flare, you might not be able to go to family dinners or social events after work. You may feel that you've let people down. MS also can affect your self-esteem.
Lesions in the brain may affect cognitive abilities. Some people with MS have trouble with memory, attention and concentration, multitasking and decision-making, says Dr. Scherz. The changes are usually mild at the beginning, but can be frustrating as time goes by.