Navigating Emotions Through Health Struggles
- Actress Christina Applegate, 52, has admitted that reality TV shows, like “Below Deck,” have helped her cope with Multiple Sclerosis (MS), a chronic disease of the central nervous system, which she was diagnosed with in 2021, after a breast cancer battle.
- Applegate was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis (MS) in August 2021. The disease impacts the central nervous system and can cause numbness or tingling in your limbs. Everyday activities such as taking a shower and walking up stairs prove challenging for Applegate due to her diagnosis.
- Although there is no cure for multiple sclerosis, there are several treatment options to help manage symptoms.
- Common tools MS patients use to improve their quality of life include wheelchairs, canes, leg braces, and some medical treatments called disease-modifying therapies (DMTs), which can slow the progression of the disease, according to some studies.
Applegate—who was diagnosed with MS in August 2021, after a brave fight with breast cancer—dived into her coping mechanisms in a interview on James Corden’s “This Life of Mine show” on SiriusXM.
Read MoreWhen he asked if reality TV was all she needed to lift her spirits, Applegate explained, “Anyone who knows me well knows that it’s on 24/7 in my room, ’cause I don’t leave my room very often.
“I know that that sounds really depressing but it’s kind of, like, I just need to sleep sometimes.”
She added, “And, yeah, reality TV. Everything. Give me any of it.”
Applegate admitted, “Give me a ‘Vanderpump.’ Give me a ‘Below Deck’. Give me a ‘Housewife,’ … even give me ‘Kitchen Nightmares’ with Gordon Ramsay.
“I’ll watch like nine seasons of that in like two days.”
Applegate, who also co-hosts the “MeSsy” podcast with her best friend and fellow actress Jamie-Lynn Sigler, explained further, “I love watching the imperfections of real people. Really, like, wow, those people exist. I love that.
“That’s why I love reality TV. Because they freak me out that they walk this Earth acting like that.”
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The “Dead To Me” star also described what it was like when she first learned she had MS during a Zoom call.
She told Corden, “[The doctor] just looked at me and he goes, ‘I’m so sorry,’ and I was like, ‘What do you mean?'”
“He goes, ‘Here’s a picture of your brain. Sorry,’ and there’s like 30 lesions all over my brain, and I went, ‘No, please don’t tell me this. Please don’t tell me this.'”
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Recounting the emotional discovery, Applegate, who was in the middle of filming the Netflix drama series “Dead to Me,” told her crew, “You guys, it’s f***ing MS.
“And they’re like, ‘Okay, we’re shutting down for the week.’ That was it. And then we were just trying to figure out how to film and stuff, and we did. I mean, we finished it. It took us a long time, but we finished it. I remember that moment like it was yesterday.”
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Christina Applegate’s MS Journey
Applegate began experiencing symptoms of multiple sclerosis long before she had answers.
She actually said she felt off balance during a dance sequence that occurred way back in season one of her dark comedy “Dead to Me.” She later noticed her aptitude for tennis started to fail.
“I wish I had paid attention,” she previously told The New York Times. “But who was I to know?”
It took several years of worsening tingling and numbness in her extremities before her diagnosis arrived while on set. This life-altering realization wouldn’t stop Applegate from finishing her portrayal of character Jen Harding, but she did need a break. Production of the final season ceased for about five months as she began treatment.
“There was the sense of, ‘Well, let’s get her some medicine so she can get better,’” Applegate said. “And there is no better. But it was good for me. I needed to process my loss of my life, my loss of that part of me. So I needed that time.”
Applegate admits she’ll never fully “accept” her condition, but she did learn how to work with it. And she’s previously talked about how the show was a cathartic outlet and safe space.
“I had an obligation to Liz [Feldman] and to Linda [Cardellini], to our story,” she said of the show’s writer and her co-star respectively. “The powers that be were like, ‘Let’s just stop. We don’t need to finish it. Let’s put a few episodes together.’ I said, ‘No. We’re going to do it, but we’re going to do it on my terms.'”
Applegate wasn’t able to work as hard or as long or in the heat without her body giving out, but she found pride in her self-sufficiency. With the help of some adjustments to the schedule, she powered through. Nicole Vassell, a writer for The Independent, says other programs should learn from the way Applegate’s “physical changes [were] seamlessly incorporated into the show.”
“This is the first time anyone’s going to see me the way I am,” Applegate said. “I put on 40 pounds; I can’t walk without a cane. I want people to know that I am very aware of all of that.”
Understanding Multiple Sclerosis
Multiple sclerosis causes the immune system to attack cells that form the protective sheath that covers nerve fibers in the spinal cord. The disruption leads to communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body.
Once the protective barrier is damaged, the spinal cord struggles to communicate to the body’s arms, legs, and other parts to function normally.
The National Multiple Sclerosis Society lays out the different types of multiple sclerosis:
- Clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) is when an individual experiences a single neurological episode lasting 24 hours or less. CIS is what MS is diagnosed as until there is a second episode.
- Relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS): The most common MS among the million people battling the disease in the US, RRMS is marked by sudden flare-ups, new symptoms, or worsening of symptoms and cognitive function. The condition will then go into remission for some time before reemerging with no known warning signs.
- Primary progressive MS (PPMS): These individuals have no flare-ups or remission, just a steady decline with progressively worse symptoms and an increasing loss of cognitive and body functions.
- Secondary progressive MS (SPMS): This almost transitional form of MS progresses from RRMS to PPMS.
In addition to balance issues, numbness, and tingling in the limbs, as Applegate experienced, other common MS symptoms include vision and bladder control problems. Mood changes and mental and physical fatigue are other symptoms people living with MS may experience, according to the National Institute of Health.
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The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke explains this disease as: “An unpredictable disease of the central nervous system, [MS] can range from relatively benign to somewhat disabling to devastating, as communication between the brain and other parts of the body is disrupted.” Investigators of the disease believe it to be an autoimmune disease.
Many people fighting MS experience muscle weakness and difficulty with coordination and balance.
Currently, there is no cure for MS, although some people treat the disease using chemotherapy, medications, or steroid drugs.
Finding Enjoyment After a Diagnosis
We admire Applegate for being so honest about her coping mechanisms while living with MS, especially if what she’s doing is bringing her joy.
Sometimes it can be hard for those facing serious health struggles to see the light at the end of the tunnel. However, SurvivorNet has shared thousands of stories from cancer warriors and others who have faced serious issues that prove everyday challenges tend to improve over time.
With the support of loved ones that make up your support group, you too can find a way to navigate your emotions.
Applegate and many other MS warriors or cancer survivors continue to demonstrate there’s life after cancer every day by focusing on what brings them joy, happiness, and gratitude.
WATCH: Living In Gratitude — Why Does it Matter?
Gratitude means being thankful for what you have and showing appreciation for it. It’s a mindset that helps people going through tough times, and the experts SurvivorNet spoke with encourage cancer warriors and their loved ones to practice gratitude.
Dr. Zuri Murrell, a colorectal cancer surgeon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, told SurvivorNet that his patients who live with gratitude tend to handle treatment better because this attitude is one way to stay mentally healthy.
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Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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