We all wish we had that person when we were diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. You know, the person who understood you and what you were going through. That person who had already been down this road and could give you real advice. When I was diagnosed with MS, finding this person was a rare unicorn. I never found that person but I also never forgot that feeling. That's why I'm creating this episode today. I want to be that person for anyone diagnosed with multiple sclerosis today. And maybe even for the person who was diagnosed years ago, but still needs to hear this. I may not know all the things that make you uniquely you, but I have found some guiding principles when it comes to MS. I still remind myself of them daily because I find them to be that helpful. And my hope is that you will too. And my fellow MS sisters, if you want a more personalized approach to creating your MS diet and lifestyle, check out my private coaching program. It includes a comprehensive assessment,

to reclaim your body, mind, and life from multiple sclerosis? Welcome to my MS podcast. I'm your host, Alene Brennan. When you're diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, you don't know where to turn for advice, like real advice. I'm not talking about the medical advice you can get from your doctor. I'm talking about the personal advice from someone who gets it. I started with Google, but of course, every search led to images of worst-case scenarios. So I tried a local support group. But I didn't feel like I fit in there. Everyone there was so much worse off than me, and I felt guilty for feeling anything but grateful. And I knew I would eventually get to a place of gratitude, but I wasn't there yet. So I tried online communities and many of them felt so doom-and-gloom.

I wanted someone that I could relate to who wouldn't judge me for the crazy thoughts running through my head. and someone who could help point me in the right direction to get my life back on track. It must have been too high of an ass because never found her. And from talking with so many of you, my fellow MS sisters, I know you feel the same way. So I started to think, knowing what I know now, what advice would I give to my newly diagnosed self? Three things immediately came to mind. So I wanted to share them with you today. My hope is that they will resonate with you too. First up, MS looks different for each person. It's called the snowflake disease for good reason. No two people have the same experience with it.

I love reminding myself that there are one in a million people in the United States alone who are diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. So, you and I, we're one in a million. And our experience with MS is one in a million. Don't assume anything about your future based on someone else's experience. This is my first principle to thriving with MS, and I remind myself of it constantly. Don't assume anything about your future based on someone else's experience. You will have your own experience. And right now, both conventional and functional medicine are advancing in their research with MS. So, we have more options now than ever before to manage this disease. And just a side note about conventional versus functional medicine. You don't have to feel pressure to pick one or the other.

This is not medical advice by any stretch of the imagination. I do not have a medical background. You don't want medical advice from me. This is just from my heart to yours. If you want to throw everything at this disease, pick the best of both worlds. There are no guarantees with either approach. That's just the reality of it. But you have to decide what makes most sense for you. And don't tell yourself the lie that everyone else has it figured out but you. We are all figuring this out as we are living it out. And whatever you decide, you don't need to share it with anyone else. Your medical decisions are yours and yours alone. But know there are so much that you can do to achieve your best case scenario.

So write this principle on a post-it note and say it every day until it sinks into every cell in your body and you believe it to your core. Don't assume anything about your future based on someone else's experience. The fact that you're listening to this podcast tells me you're someone who wants to be proactive about healing. So that in and of itself sets you apart. Don't assume anything about your future based on someone else's experience. Erase all of the images of those worst case scenarios. Get them out of your mind. Start envisioning your best case scenario and take one step, just one step each day towards reclaiming your body, mind, and life from MS. The next thing I would have told my newly diagnosed self? Yes, it's true there is no cure for MS.

Food will not cure you. However, food can help you feel better in your body. And personally, that's what I'm after most. I know I have better energy when I eat better. And I want to know that I'm going to have the energy to keep up as a mom of a toddler. I want food that will help me to eliminate the fatigue, brain fog, pain. And it has. Food has helped me to actually feel better in my body now. More than prior to my diagnosis, which I know sounds crazy, but it's true. Just because food isn't a cure doesn't mean it's not worth doing. I truly believe food has helped me to remain stable all of these years, and I pray that it continues to do so for decades to come.

With food, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain. Choose to make your diagnosis a beginning to a healthier lifestyle. That is my principle number two. Choose to make your diagnosis a beginning to a healthier lifestyle. And just in case you're wondering, you don't need to do a complete overhaul all at once to get results. That's one option, and it likely will get you the fastest results. But if it's not sustainable, it doesn't matter. You can start with something as simple as adding one more serving of veggies to your dinner plate. Or maybe you just focus on having one more glass of water today than you did yesterday. Or if you're looking to jumpstart your healing with some smoothies that are both delicious and healing, check out my five-day smoothie challenge.

It's filled with recipes, shopping lists, smoothie demos, and so much more. Head on over to Alenebrennan. com/ smoothies. Get the five-day smoothie challenge to jumpstart your healing. Okay, now we've touched on food. So I need to share with you this last bit of advice. And this is one I struggle with daily, just full transparency. I am never coming to this mic suggesting that I have it all figured out, far from it. I fail every single day and I will continue to fail every single day. But I also get back up and keep going because healing is possible for us. We do have the ability.

It comes down to this: Your thoughts create your feelings, and your feelings influence your behavior. If you draw inaccurate conclusions about who you are and what you're capable of doing, you limit your potential. Let me say that one more time. If you draw an inaccurate conclusion, about who you are. and what you're capable of doing, you limit your potential. I love this next quote here from Kelly Lee Phipps. If you argue for your limitations, you get to keep them. If you argue for your possibilities, you get to create them. So what are you doing? Are you arguing for your limitations? Are you constantly telling yourself the things that you can't do or how you have to lower expectations for yourself now because now you have MS? Or are you arguing for your possibilities?

Are you seeing yourself creating your best case scenario? Personally, personally, I want to chase those possibilities. I want to create my best case scenario. And I want to do that alongside you as well. I'm not talking about thinking your way out of your MS diagnosis. but I am talking about guarding your mind and interrupting the thoughts that bring you down and hold you back. So my third principle is this. Guard your thoughts. They shape your reality. Create a mindset of possibilities, not limitations. Guard your thoughts. They shape your reality. Create a mindset of possibilities, not limitations. And if you need a little help from the mindset area, because we all do, I created an anthem just for you. Visit Alenebrennan. com/ backslash anthem for your free copy today. Print it and say it daily. It is the anthem of our MS sisterhood to remind us that every day is a new opportunity to reclaim our body, mind and life from MS.

Number two, choose to make your diagnosis a new beginning to a healthier lifestyle. And number three, guard your thoughts. They shape your reality. Create a mindset of possibilities, not limitations. My friend, you have this. You can do this. And we're going to do it together. Well, my friend, we've reached the end of this episode. Pick one lesson from today's discussion and put it into action now. It's time to reclaim your body, mind and life from multiple sclerosis. And for more resources, events and programs, head over to AleneBrennan. com. See you on the next episode of my MS podcast.