How Much Is Multiple Sclerosis Impacting Your Life?

The effects of multiple sclerosis (MS) can vary from person to person — and even change from one month or year to the next — but if you feel like MS is affecting your day-to-day life, you’re not alone.

As many as 75 percent of people who have MS experience difficulty learning, remembering, and thinking. And approximately 80 percent of people with MS live with fatigue, which can interfere with daily functioning at work and home. “It’s important for people to know that this is a heavy, emotional burden that you’re living with right now,” says Leigh Charvet, PhD, a professor of neurology at New York University Grossman School of Medicine and the director of MS research at the Multiple Sclerosis Comprehensive Care Center in New York City.

If you have relapsing-remitting multiple sclerosis (RRMS), the most common form of MS, optimizing your diet, exercise, sleep, and stress-management routines may not only help you improve your quality of life but also delay or reduce the risk of RRMS progressing to secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (SPMS). Those with SPMS no longer have periods of flares and remission but a steady progression of symptoms and disability instead.

No matter which form of MS you are living with, “We want to see you continuing to do the things that are the most meaningful and important to you, even if we have to find new or different ways to go about it,” says Kevin Alschuler, PhD, rehabilitation psychology medical director at the University of Washington Medical Center — Northwest and codirector of the UW Multiple Sclerosis Rehabilitation & Wellness Research Center in Seattle.

Take this assessment to find out just how much of an impact MS has on your daily life. And find out what you can do about it, so you can live and feel as well as possible with the condition.

This assessment is part of a series aimed at helping you check in on MS before your next checkup with your neurologist. Take more assessments.

Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.

Additional Sources

Multiple Sclerosis. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. January 31, 2025.
Fatigue and Multiple Sclerosis. National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Types of Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis Association of America. July 12, 2024.
Relapsing-Remitting Multiple Sclerosis (RRMS). Cleveland Clinic. May 23, 2023.
Brieva L et al. Current Challenges in Secondary Progressive Multiple Sclerosis: Diagnosis, Activity Detection and Treatment. Frontiers in Immunology. March 21, 2025.
Medications for Acute Exacerbations. National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Families Affected by Multiple Sclerosis. National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Who Gets Multiple Sclerosis? National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Employment and Multiple Sclerosis. National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Lo Buono V et al. The Relationship Between Body Image, Disability and Mental Health in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis. Journal of Clinical Medicine. May 22, 2023.
Depression and Multiple Sclerosis. National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Franco M et al. Anxiety. Multiple Sclerosis Association of America. November 25, 2024.
Employment Concerns With Multiple Sclerosis — Things to Consider. Multiple Sclerosis Association of America. February 6, 2025.
Van Egmond EE et al. Self-Reported Work Productivity in People With Multiple Sclerosis and Its Association With Mental and Physical Health. Disability and Rehabilitation. October 5, 2021.
Mrabet S et al. Determining Factors of Self-Esteem in Patients With Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. January 2020.
Mikula P et al. Self-Management, Self-Esteem and Their Associations With Psychological Well-Being in People With Multiple Sclerosis. Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders. August 2021.

Jessica Baity, MD

Medical Reviewer

Castle Connolly Top Doctor

Jessica Baity, MD, is a board-certified neurologist practicing in southern Louisiana. She cares for a variety of patients in all fields of neurology, including epilepsy, headache, dementia, movement disorders, multiple sclerosis, and stroke.

She received a bachelor's degree in international studies and history from the University of Miami and a master's in international relations from American University. She graduated from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine, where she also did her internship in internal medicine and her residency in neurology.

Prior to practicing medicine, she worked in international relations and owned a foreign language instruction and translation company.

See full bio

Katherine Lee

Author

Katherine Lee is a writer and editor who specializes in health, science, and parenting content. She has written for Verywell, where she covered school-age parenting, and worked as an editor at Parenting and Working Mother magazines. She has written and edited numerous articles and essays on science, parenting, and children's health and development for What to Expect, the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences, the American Psychological Association, and Newsweek, among others

See full bio

How Much Is MS Impacting Your Life?

Question 1