Being a podcaster can be a lonely life. So what better way to begin the holiday celebrations than getting some of your favorite MSers together to talk about our plans for the season? 

Alongside my guests, we talk about some of the things that can play on our minds during this time of year, particularly when combined with having a chronic illness like MS. 

Dan & Jennifer Digmann talk about how to handle the stresses of maintaining relationships. Ardra Shephard is here to talk about staying fashionable and feeling good about yourself. Then Kathy Chester covers the different ways that you can maintain your fitness and movement schedule, while Alene Brennan talks about the essential stuff - food choices and cooking!

Finally, we all share some of our favorite holiday recipes - link provided below.

Topics covered in this episode include:

• Tools for handling challenging relationships at this time of year
• How to look our best when we're tired, cog-foggy, and stressed? And why should we care?
• How to find the time and motivation to keep moving and exercising
• Tips on how to enjoy holiday food without regret - and making yourself feel worse
• Our favorite holiday food memories and recipes

Full show notes and resources at https://fumsnow.com/fums119/

Brooke Pelczynski's life with Multiple Sclerosis is an inspiring example of someone taking their diagnosis and turning it into something great. Most recently, her varied career has led to her working for Marvel Comics!

Brooke was undertaking her BFA in Illustration in New York when the fatigue and clumsiness that resulted in a number of ruined artworks was diagnosed as Multiple Sclerosis - at the age of only 21. Although she now feels that MS had crippled her career, Brooke has since used her disease to build a career as an artist, illustrator, and comic-creating multiple sclerosis fighter! 

As well as her full-time role providing illustrations for MultipleSclerosis.net, her work - in a variety of forms - has been featured by a variety of clients and publications including Yahoo, Momentum Magazine, Hotel Indigo, Lifewire, and many more. Brooke also worked as a story consultant for Marvel's Darkhawk comic series, using her experiences to inform the title character's own journey toward an MS diagnosis. 

Topics covered in this episode include:

• Brooke's life before her diagnosis with MS aged only 21
• How, after feeling like MS had crippled her life as an artist, Brooke was able to use comic art to build her career
• The way that Brooke's work for MultipleSclerosis.net fits around her "Perfect, shitty situation" - and how she always strives to remain creative, even on her worst MS days (MSiest?)
• How she got involved as a story advisor for Marvel's Darkhawk comics 

Full show notes and resources at https://fumsnow.com/fums118/

MS is often described as an invisible disability. But as the disease progresses, the focus - of patients as well as medical professionals - can shift to more visible, physical symptoms, like mobility issues.

However, because the majority of people with MS are diagnosed in their 20s and 30s, the psychological and cognitive effects can all too often go untreated. And these symptoms are just as common as the outward ones. In fact, as you'll hear, these may be even more common, with 50% of all people with MS having at least one clinically significant episode of depression. 

My guest today is Dr. Anthony Feinstein. He is a Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Toronto, where he runs an MS neuropsychiatry clinic and research team. His MS research has focused on MRI-visualized brain changes associated with depression, the development of fully-automated cognitive tests for people with MS, and much more. He is also the author of Mind, Mood, and Memory: The Neurobehavioral Consequences of Multiple Sclerosis. 

Dr. Feinstein is here to discuss the hidden symptoms of MS that add significantly to the disability associated with the disease, including cognition and mood. He even offers some tips for us all that can help keep our brains active and stimulated!

We all know that regular exercise is essential for living well with MS. So don't forget to give your brain a workout too! 

Topics covered in this episode include:

• How an MRI machine led Dr. Feinstein to specialize in Multiple Sclerosis
• What Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (or CBT) is and why it is so effective for people with MS
• How CBT compares with medication as a way to deal with MS-related mood disorders
• Ways that cognitive decline can be monitored, and the three types of exercise that you should be doing to stimulate your brain!
• Dr. Feinstein answers questions from the FUMS community

Full show notes and resources at https://fumsnow.com/fums117/