A few weeks back, I posted an online query to the Life With MS Facebook community, as I often do. While many of the discussions that take place on the Facebook page pertain to different aspects of multiple sclerosis (MS) — new research and treatments, challenges and successes, personal updates — this one was a little more controversial.
“What is your most favorite sound or noise?” I wrote, and, “Conversely, what is your least favorite sound or noise?”
The answers were all over the board, but what struck me was how many of the same sounds and noises appeared on opposite sides of the love-hate line for people — that’s to say, they drew an equal and opposite response on either end of the spectrum.
Our Past Experiences Determine Our Reactions
While the revving engine of a motorcycle might be of utmost annoyance for some, that same sound was a favorite of those who had once ridden or raced motorcycles.
The same happened for the sound of birds early in the morning: To those with sleeping issues, the noisy chirps and cheeps signaled the end of another sleepless night. For those who enjoyed their mornings, they were a joyous chorus.
There were even votes from each camp for silence. Some perceived it as still and relaxing, while others found it lonely and foreboding.
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No Two People Will Experience MS in the Same Way
While the survey question was intended as a bit of a diversion from our normal MS-related conversation on the page, it nonetheless brought MS to my mind.
It reminded me of how some people’s worst fears about what might yet occur are comforts to others who have already experienced and adapted to them.
I remembered a woman admitting to me that she was happy to be in a nursing facility, though I know it is high on the list of fears for so many, whether they have MS or not.
I recalled the number of times I’ve heard or read that “ending up” in a wheelchair was the ultimate source of dread, knowing more than a score of people who view their chairs as a tool of freedom and mobility rather than something in which they had “ended up.”
If one person finds a room full of laughter and conversation stimulating, and another finds it overwhelming and confusing, it’s still the same room … it’s simply a different perception of the same situation.
Life With MS Impacts Everyone Differently
We all know that MS is a different disease for every person. What I’m coming to realize is that part of the reason it seems so very different is that we perceive the same encounters so differently.
I suppose it’s like having a severely affected left hand. If you are right-hand dominant, symptoms in the left would be annoying and unpleasant, but nothing compared with a left-handed person’s experience of the same symptom.
We all live our own lives; we all have our own symptoms of multiple sclerosis. The odd part is that even when we have the same symptoms, we experience them differently — even oppositely — to another person with the disease. No wonder it’s difficult to explain to those who don’t have it!
We’re All Seeing Life Through Our Own Lens
We all see life from our own angle. As an old friend used to say, “We all direct our own film and view it through our own lens.” What I experience, and how I relate that to my life, is based on every other experience I have had and those I have learned of from others. I think the same applies to every one of us, whether we are living with MS or not.
As an aside, no one in my unscientific survey considered the 3 a.m. retching of a dog or cat outside their bedroom door to be a happy sound … so perhaps there’s at least one thing we all have in common.
Wishing you and your family the best of health.
Cheers,
Trevis
