The World vs MS

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, I was doing some filming in Manchester for a GREAT initiative which launched this week!

The initiative is called The World vs MS and aims to TAKE ON MS... ONE CHALLENGE AT A TIME. It's such a great initiative because t's so relevant right now and is being proactive in genuinely helping those living with MS by starting with the basics.

The idea is that people submit CHALLENGES they have in EVERYDAY LIFE with MS and then we all try to find solutions to these challenges... further down the line one of the solutions is going to become a reality! Check it out here.... https://www.theworldvsms.com

I submitted my challenge on Tuesday which was based around my struggles to stay cool in the gym whilst training to prevent symptoms flaring up.

If you have MS, know someone who has MS or even care for someone with MS, take a look and submit your challenge as there may just be a solution out there for you.

P x

I Challenge You

I woke up nice and early today and headed over to the gym to lift some weight for 45 mins or so followed by a little HIIT training on the cross trainer.

This made me feel SO GOOD and SO STRONG.. what a way to feel first thing in the morning! Positive vibes at 7am :-)

I came home and had a look through my note book I write in which is titled "LIFE ISN'T ABOUT FINDING YOURSELF. LIFE IS ABOUT CREATING YOURSELF." My dad bought it for me a few years ago and it's full of notes to myself and quotes i've read and found inspiring.

I thought I'd share some of the things I've said to myself as they really helped me back then and they are so relevant to me right now...

Written June 2014 

"ALWAYS FIGHT MS FOR THE RIGHT TO A FUTURE IN CONTROL. TAKE CONTROL AND APPRECIATE LIFE AND THE SIMPLE THINGS AND LET THE SUPERFICIAL GO. BECOME A BETTER PERSON EACH DAY AND FOREVER CHALLENGE YOURSELF AS YOU ARE ALWAYS BECOMING A STRONGER, WISER AND MORE DEVELOPED HUMAN BEING"

Written July 2014 when I had lost the feeling in my legs...

"I CHALLENGE YOU...TO WALK TO THE GYM AND WORK ON YOUR WEAKNESS. I CHALLENGE YOU TO GO TO WORK AND COMPLETE YOUR 'TO DO' LIST I CHALLENGE YOU TO BE NICE TO EVERYONE YOU COME ACROSS TODAY, SMILE AND NOT TO BE DEFENSIVE. I CHALLENGE YOU TO FEED YOUR BODY WITH THE CORRECT NUTRIENTS TO MAKE YOU A HEALTHIER PERSON AND BEAT MS. I CHALLENGE YOU. NOW YOU ONLY HAVE YOURSELF TO COMPETE WITH"

Written December 2014 when I came out of hospital...

"HOME FROM HOSPITAL. AN EXPERIENCE I AM MOVING ON FROM, LEARNT A LOT FROM AND AM WILLING TO FORGET THE PAIN BUT NOT THE JOURNEY. I HAVE A SECOND CHANCE BECAUSE MY BODY FAUGHT.

WHAT I DO WITH MY FUTURE IS NOW IN MY HANDS. I HAVE TAKEN CONTROL AND I WILL CREATE MY HAPPINESS"

Written February 2015...

"DON'T GO BACKWARDS. FOCUS AND ACHIEVE THIS FOR YOURSELF. NO ONE WANTS THIS MORE FOR YOU THAN YOURSELF. DREAM, BELIEVE, ACHIEVE. JUST DO IT. BE A DREAM BELIEVER AND LOVE EVERY SINGLE DAY YOU ARE ALIVE. YOU ARE FREE. CHOOSE TO SUCCEED WHERE OTHER ARE NOT ABLE TO. DO THIS FOR YOU BUT REMEMBER THOSE WHO ARE NOT SO FORTUNATE. BE GRATEFUL AND LOVE LIFE, LOVE DEEPLY AND LOVE PASSIONATELY. INSPIRE THE WORLD TO LOVE, TO SUCCEED, TO DREAM, TO BE PASSIONATE, TO BE POSITIVE."

Written all the time...

" HE WHO SAYS HE CAN AND HE WHO SAYS HE CAN'T ARE BOTH USUALLY RIGHT"


P x

"AWARENESS IS THE GREATEST AGENT FOR CHANGE"

Apparently it's MS AWARENESS WEEK! So I thought I would take this opportunity to go back to the basics and share the key information I believe everyone should know about MS. 




WHAT IS MS?

- A neurological condition

- Essentially your body attacks itself...

- The IMMUNE SYSTEM mistakes the nerve covering called Myelin and ATTACKS it. (Think of an electric cable and the covering gets damaged exposing the wires).

- This covering helps messages travel smoothly from the brain to the rest of the body. Once damaged this leaves scarring and can cause a range of symptoms. 

- Depending on where the attack occurred, different symptoms will present themselves.

- Currently there is no known specific cause and no cure

There are THREE TYPES OF MS: 

1. RELAPSING REMITTING (I have this one!)

2. SECONDARY PROGRESSIVE

3. PRIMARY PROGRESSIVE 




WHO HAS IT?

100 THOUSAND people in the UK and 2.5 MILLION in the world. 

Most people are diagnosed between 20 - 40 years of age  (I was diagnosed at 22)

Three times MORE WOMEN have MS than MEN (I'm a girl, woo!)

WHAT CAUSES MS AND WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS?

There is no known exact cause of MS

However, research shows that a lack of VITAMIN D, past exposure to GLANDULAR FEVER, (I had this when I was 17!) SMOKING and ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS related to living further from the equator are all linked to MS.

I find that HEAT, STRESS, SUGAR and LACK OF SLEEP all cause my MS to flare up.

MS symptoms can be so hard to tell because they aren't always physical!

- VISION PROBLEMS I've lost my sight in one eye or the other 3 times!

- BALANCE PROBLEMS AND DIZZINESS This is a funny one for me as I'm always falling over myself or finding myself leaning as I speak to someone!! I try and style it out.

- FATIGUE I find this one the worst because it's an OVERWHELMING SENSE OF TIREDNESS that is UNCONTROLLABLE and it has very often prevented me from seeing friends after work or staying up to watch movies. It sometimes interferes with work but I MANAGE IT with 8 hours sleep a night and this seems to be helping. 

- BLADDER PROBLEMS 

- COGNITIVE (Memory and Thinking) sometimes I can't get my words out or say what I want to say in the correct way. It's been noticed and it's so frustrating!!

- PINS AND NEEDLES / TINGLING SENSATION I was diagnosed when I lost the feeling slowly from my toes all the way up to my arms, chest and back limiting my movement and making it very hard to feel anything or do day to day activities like cutting food, holding a glass of water or buttning up jeans. 

- TREMOR

- PAIN 

There are many more symptoms but these are the most common. 

This is just an insight in to MS and I hope more and more people can know what it is and not confuse it for ME or MND :-) 

One step at a time I will spread the word and slowly RAISE AWARENESS. 

P x

"MY LIFE IS MY MESSAGE"

Some really amazing and exciting things have been happening recently which I'm super excited to be able to share with everyone!

It's pretty obvious that I'm hugely passionate about raising awareness of MS and I'm really trying to change the perception of what it is to live with MS.

I'm fortunate enough to be doing REALLY well with managing the condition but it certainly hasn't been easy and has had some incredibly low points at times as well as some really great moments where I've truly surprised myself. I want to share my story with as many people as possible and work together with charities, organisations, schools, the media...(basically everyone!) to try and create a NEW UNDERSTANDING of the condition and hopefully INSPIRE those living with MS, those being newly diagnosed each day and those who support others living with MS. 

It's really a JOURNEY for EVERYONE and in my eyes it's going to be a POWERFUL MOVEMENT. One step at a time. 

As I've mentioned before, I set myself 4 big goals at the beginning of each year and this year one of them was to raise my profile within the MS community and really push for some changes in how people perceive this condition. 

In February I was contacted by a health and wellbeing agency with regards to a new initiative that focuses on the daily challenges of those living with MS and the importance of working together to make a true impact, and help others within the community.

Of course I was SO excited to be contacted and to be able to share my story. It was really inspiring to speak to the team and for them to be so interested in what I had to say and it really seems like we're trying to achieve similar goals. 

So two weeks ago I headed up to their offices in Manchester for the day to have some pictures taken, a bit of filming (in the cold!) followed by a couple of hours of interview filming. I've done a bit of this before and I feel totally comfortable in front of a camera; especially as I'm speaking about something I'm so passionate about. But even still it was a little nerve wracking and my MS occasionally got the better of me and I was losing track of my thoughts and probably rambled on a bit!

A few snaps from the day... 

The best bit was saved for last when I jumped in a taxi off to the recording studio!! 

New album out soon... 

Definitely not. Haha. Just recording some voice-overs but I can safely say it was my first time in the recording studio, drumstick lolly in hand; I felt like a rock star. HA!

Anyway.. All of this is launching reallllllly soon so **WATCH THIS SPACE** 

I know that shouting about MS isn't everyone’s way of dealing with it and I'm learning that the more I attend market research meetings and MS events where others tell me that they don't tell their friends or the people they work with and just keep it quiet. I'm learning to respect that, as being a loud mouth isn't everyone’s way of life!! Just mine. The funny thing is that I'm actually quite quiet in other situations but when it comes to MS I just want the world to know and I want to make some changes in the MS community. 

Hopefully by working with these Health Care Agencies, MS charities, production companies, media and the rest.. I can make a change to the lives of those affected by the condition and all that it comes with. I have chosen to live my life in a particular way and now I'm successfully beating MS but it's taken a long time of trial and error to find the ways.

POSITIVITY, PERSISTENCE and CONSISTENCY are key factors in my success. I will continue to fight to beat MS once and for all. 

I just want to say; Thank you SO much to the wonderful team at in Manchester for being SO welcoming and interested in what I had to say.

I'm really looking forward to seeing the final outcome and what else I can work on in the future :-) 

P x

Visual What?

I am a Visual Merchandiser at one of the greatest departments stores in the world... Selfridges London.

But I'm often asked, What IS a Visual Merchandiser?

As a Visual Merchandiser on the Womenswear VM Team I:

- Maintain the standards across floor
- Design floor plans
- Rail layouts
- Merchandising the rails (deciding what piece should go next to what)
- Design creative installations to fit with the wider concept
- BUILD creative installations
- INSTALL creative installations
- Create mood boards
- Style and change mannequins
- Work long shift stating at 7am
- Work night shifts
- Climb up ladders
- Drill, hammer, saw, paint, glue, sand... you name it; I do it.

ALL of the above challenges my MS and I have to find ways to work around the nature of my job to ensure I don't cause a relapse by over exhausting myself.

At the end of the day it's my DREAM JOB and I'm not giving that up for anything.

If you want to see some of my work, I've updated the MY WORK | VM tab on the home page so take a look :-)

P x

Strength

"Strength does not come from winning.

Your struggles develop your strengths. 

When you go through hardships 

and decide not to surrender, 

that is strength."

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER

Annie inspired me here with his words which I believe are spot on. Strength is not about winning which in my case is actively Beating MS. 

My strength comes from having been through each relapse and not surrendered. I fought through each and every one. Now that I have experienced each MS symptom and overcome each one I am not scared of the future because for now I am fighting them off but should there come a day where I relapse, I know I have the resilience and the strength to not surrender and to fight and in turn, become stronger each day. 

I am winning because I am becoming stronger each day and I have found the way. I am always learning about myself, my condition and my limits. 

Knowledge is Power. 

P x

Connecting

So I spent this evening attending an MS focus group where I met other people with the same condition and we spoke about our different experiences. And what an experience it was!

The people I met were so lovely, young, vibrant and positive. It's actually by chance that I heard about it and even bothered to write on a forum saying I'd be willing to take part and come along... I really believe these things happen for a reason. 

What I found most interesting was our very different experiences, views and varying approaching to managing our versions of MS. I obviously have a very public open approach which doesn't work for all and I guess may come across as loud, some may say attention seeking or even arrogant. But for me it's how I manage my version of MS and how I motivate myself day in and day out. The only attention I want is to raise awareness of MS and tell my story so others can perhaps have an insight into what my life with my version of MS is really like.

I found it really interesting to hear how others don't tell anyone or barely speak about it and there's something really nice and personal about that. I feel like sometimes I almost make myself known as 'the girl with MS' because I'm so active with it. 

The most amazing thing I found about this evening was being able to ask people questions, some quite personal, and to speak about them freely almost laughing at shared experiences and that instant feeling that someone 'gets it'. 

All round it was a wonderful evening connecting with wonderful people in a positive environment filled with future opportunities. If you have MS, have been diagnosed recently, or even are related to someone who has MS, I highly recommend connecting with others in the same situation or environment as you may just be pleasantly surprised with the outcome. 

Good night :-) 

P x 

What Beating MS Looks Like

BUT YOU DON'T LOOK LIKE YOU HAVE MS? 

Dear MS,

As you are probably aware, I'm winning. I'm writing to tell you that no matter how many times you come back to try and sabotage my mission to succeed in life without you, I will continue to fight stronger and you will continue to lose. I have found the tips and tricks to get around your nasty ways and I'm going to share them with everyone else with MS who is willing to listen. 

So far this year I have left my career in marketing, graduated in VM with a distinction from the FRA, celebrated my birthday in New York and landed myself my dream job at the greatest department store in the world, I have made it as the face of No7's international Christmas campaign and now I'm looking to what else I can accomplish...without you. 

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to be legendary. 

Yours sincerely,

Paula x

Every Little Helps

I was fortunate enough to have a long weekend as I had Friday off work which was a great opportunity to de-stress, re-focus and relax. Last week was really difficult and stressful for several reasons and it was SO important that I made the decision to get myself out of the negative and anxious mind set I was in. 

For me, MS symptoms and relapses can be triggered by stress. So taking a calm approach plays a huge part in the success of my wellbeing. 

I REFUSE to let myself get stressed over unnecessary problems. After all there is ALWAYS a solution.

However, last week (for the first time in a long time) I let my thoughts and feelings get the better of me. I could almost feel the MS starting to surface again. So on Friday morning when I woke up I made the decision to override all the drama and negative thoughts and re-focused my energy into boosting positivity all around me. 

First of all I cooked a healthy, substantial and energising breakfast made up of eggs, avocado and sun dried tomatoes on rye bread. I trained at my favourite North London gym; Blueprint, and worked my arse off lifting weights until I could't do any more. I can't explain how amazing training at the gym makes me feel and how much of a positive effect it has on beating the MS. It's something I never want to fall out of habit again. It's a part of my lifestyle and above all it's empowering. 

I then explored using different ingredients to create clean and healthy sweet treats such a s protein brownies, protein pancakes and caramel swirls. (Recipes to go up shortly - watch this space) 

I spent the rest of the weekend feeling stronger and strong and even trained again on Sunday at David Lloyd where I did upper body weights followed by some LISS training on the cross trainer. 

All that was left was to stimulate my creative mind and inspire myself to continue pushing through the tough world that is the fashion industry.. so off I went to the Louis Vuitton Series 3 exhibition. 

All I needed was a little TLC and to remind myself how strong I actually am. It's so important to maintain a level of self belief and confidence in the ability to beat MS. I truly believe that through the lifestyle I live and the choices I make, I WILL BEAT THIS CONDITION. 

So far so good. 

:-) 

P xx

MS = My Stress

And breathe...

So basically my job is really stressful, busy and full on and it's only been two months! I can't believe it as it feels like I've been there for years already. 

But we all know what comes with stress... stress eating... relapses. 

I'm having to work out a way at the moment to manage these new stresses and strains on my life beating MS. I definitely don't want to go backwards and un-do all the hard work I've put in over the past couple of years. 

I literally notice a relapse coming on when I've been stressed/ eaten badly. I can almost feel the backs of my eyes going and the cold pins and needles in my knees.  

WHY AM I DOING THIS TO MYSELF. SUGAR IS THE WORST. 

I've decided i'm going to completely immerse myself in the world of wellness, mindfulness, health and fitness in order to regain some control on things. I'm going to Blog, Insta, Tweet and live all of these things and I refuse to give up or give in to MS. 

P x