Episode 397: Managing Grief and MS with Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor

For many people, it can be difficult to talk about the feelings of loss that can accompany MS. For some, it's the loss of the way they imagined their life would turn out. For others, it's the more specific loss of function. Perhaps the loss of their mobility. Or a decline in their cognitive skills. It's painful to imagine any of these scenarios, let alone experience them in real life.

The human response to loss is grief. And grieving itself can affect your physical, emotional, and cognitive health. Joining me today to discuss how grieving can affect you, along with ways to best manage grief, is Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor.

Dr. O'Connor is a professor of psychology at the University of Arizona, where she directs the Grief, Loss, and Social Stress Lab, investigating the effects of grief on the brain and the body. Dr. O'Connor also lives with MS, and the title of her new book is The Grieving Body: How the Stress of Loss Can Be an Opportunity for Healing.

We'll also share the results of a study on MS fatigue in Finland.

We'll tell you about a study that focused on sexual dysfunction among women living with MS in Iran.

You'll learn what a research team discovered when they connected sick days from work with the prodromal phase of MS.

And we're sharing a new resource from the MS International Federation that will help you assess which wellness practices and complementary therapies may be beneficial for you.

We have a lot to talk about! Are you ready for RealTalk MS??!

This Week: Managing the grief that comes from living with MS :22

Results from a Finnish study adds further evidence to what we know about MS fatigue 1:36

Results of a study that focused on sexual dysfunction among women living with MS in Iran 3:13

Can job-related sick days help researchers better understand the prodromal phase of MS? 5:48

The MS International Federation has produced a very worthwhile guide to wellness practices and complementary therapies for people with MS 10:49

Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor discusses managing the grief that accompanies being diagnosed with MS 12:42

Share this episode 34:02

Have you downloaded the free RealTalk MS app? 34:22

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LINKS

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Become an MS Activist
Web: https://nationalmssociety.org/advocacy
Email: msactivist@nmss.org

STUDY: Evaluation of Patient-Perceived Fatigue in Multiple Sclerosis Using the Finnish MS Registry
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/20552173251325098

STUDY: The Prevalence of Sexual Dysfunction and Its Contributors Among the Women with Multiple Sclerosis
https://bmcwomenshealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12905-025-03653-y

STUDY: The Prodromal Phase of Multiple Sclerosis: Evidence from Sickness Absence Patterns Before Disease Onset -- A Matched Cohort Study
https://jnnp.bmj.com/content/early/2025/03/25/jnnp-2024-335279.full

STUDY (PLAIN ENGLISH VERSION): The Prodromal Phase of Multiple Sclerosis: Evidence from Sickness Absence Patterns Before Disease Onset -- A Matched Cohort Study
https://tremlettsmsresearchexplained.wordpress.com/2025/03/26/the-prodromal-phase-of-multiple-sclerosis-evidence-from-sickness-absence-patterns-before-disease-onset-a-matched-cohort-study-explained

DOWNLOAD: Wellness Practices and Complementary Therapies in MS
https://msif.org/resources/wellness-practices-and-complementary-therapies/

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RealTalk MS Episode 397
Guests: Dr. Mary-Frances O'Connor

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