The ‘MS: Get Your Head Around It!’ program was created by Dr. Sally Shaw, a PwMS and a psychologist, after decades of working with people with MS in Melbourne, Australia. Living with MS is such a different experience for everyone, and yet we all share a common experience of uncertainty. This course has been designed to bring together the best psychological approaches to living well with MS across several domains; self-identity after diagnosis, self-management of a chronic health condition (MS), communicating your MS symptoms to the people closest to you, and stress management 101. This course was built because people with MS need more than just google searches and the medication prescribed by doctors when they are first diagnosed with MS (and throughout their journey living with MS). We all need coping strategies and help to frame our perspectives of what the diagnosis of MS will mean to our lives. This course doesn’t tell you which diet to go on, or that you should do more exercise (although, that’s not a bad idea tbh) but it will help you to be strategic in your thinking about MS, so that you can live well with it, no matter what it throws at you. Watch engaging videos and animations to explain concepts and explore psychological strategies to make a difference in your life with MS. Introducing game-changing ways to look at MS in your life, you will equip yourself with valuable tools needed to cope well with this diagnosis. There are four modules that include video, animation, and pdf worksheet content. Each module takes less than 45mins, but you can review each module, or repeat specific sections, several times if you want to. Please note, this page is not a helpline or emergency service. We can not respond to urgent requests for help that require an immediate response. If you are urgently in need of mental health advice and support, please call Lifeline on 13 11 14 (Australia) or refer to your local provider of Mental Health Support.
