Wednesday morning.
Brain fog so thick I couldn’t remember my daughter’s teacher’s name.
My first thought: ‘My body is attacking itself.’
My second thought: ‘What if that phrase is making everything worse?’
So I decided to test it.
When I started saying ‘My body’s trying to get my attention’ instead of ‘My body is attacking itself,’ something shifted.
I stopped feeling like I was in a war.
I started getting curious. ‘What is it trying to tell me?’
I noticed a pattern. Every time I spiraled into ‘This is just going to get worse,’ my fatigue would spike within hours.
Not because the disease got worse, because my nervous system did.
7 Most Common, Least Helpful Phrases, Reframed
1. “I’ll never be the same again” → “I’m becoming someone new”
2. “My body is attacking itself” → “My body needs guidance to heal”
3. “I can’t trust my body anymore” → “My body’s trying to get my attention”
4. “I’m a burden to everyone” → “I’m worthy of support and love”
5. “This is just going to get worse” → “No one knows what the future holds”
6. “I should be able to handle this” → “This is hard, and I’m doing my best”
7. “If I just try harder, I can beat this” → “Healing requires patience, not force”
Why This Matters (More Than I Realized)
I used to think my thoughts were just… thoughts. Turns out, every time I told myself “I’m a burden” or “This is just going to get worse,” my body was listening. And responding.
These phrases flip on the stress response, the same system that would kick in if I were being chased by a bear. Except there’s no bear. Just me, sitting on my couch, flooding my nervous system with panic.
And stress? MS loves stress. It’s like pouring gasoline on inflammation. Within hours of a spiral, I’d feel it. Heavier fatigue, sharper pain, brain fog so thick I’d lose words mid-sentence.
Something finally clicked for me. My body can’t heal when it thinks it’s under attack.
Healing happens in safety. In calm. When my nervous system can actually exhale.
Why I’m Not Pushing Positivity
I tried the “think positive!” approach. It felt fake. My brain knew I didn’t believe “Everything is amazing!” when I could barely get out of bed. The forced optimism just added another layer of failure.
That’s when I learned about neutral reframing. You’re not pretending everything’s fine, you’re just offering your brain a different pathway. A gentler one.
Every time you choose the reframe over the catastrophe, you’re literally building new neural connections. With repetition, those new pathways get stronger. The old ones fade. Not instantly. But gradually. Like training a muscle.
Want to Try This With Me?
Pick the phrase that shows up most for you, the one that feels automatic, like a reflex.
Write your reframe on a sticky note. I have one on my bathroom mirror, and one on my coffee maker, because apparently I need the reminder before caffeine.
When you catch the old phrase creeping in, pause. Read the reframe. Say it out loud if you can. You don’t have to believe it fully yet. You just have to practice offering it as an option.
That’s it. One phrase. One week. Let’s see what shifts.
❤️ Amanda
Walk a Myelin My Shoes 