O' For Fux Sake!...

Pardon my French, but I'm irritable at baseline...and when I read STOOPID articles like the one in the picture, I just want to gnaw loose from the tether that keeps me bound to the human race and FLOAT AWAY!

Yes, you guessed it...another HIGH PRICED study funded by the NIH (National Institute of Health) to tell all of us with Multiple Sclerosis (or any OTHER disease...I mean the so called "research" can apply to ANYTHING!) that if we just "increase our positive experiences" our MS will be MUCH more tolerable. No indication here that ANYONE has been spending those high-priced and fought after government dollars (which DO come from my effing taxes, by the way) to delve into a friggin' CURE for MS! Why heck no...that's MUCH harder to research than silly CRAP LIKE THIS:

Now, researchers from two universities have found that people with MS who increase positive experiences decrease their symptoms of depression and improve the overall quality of their lives.

As part of an ongoing NIH-funded study of people with MS, Alexa Stuifbergen, professor of nursing and associate dean of research at The University of Texas at Austin, and Lorraine Phillips, assistant professor in the University of Missouri Sinclair School of Nursing, determined the extent to which positive experiences influenced the health of people with MS. The researchers found that a higher number of positive experiences was associated with fewer symptoms of depression, fewer functional limitations, and better quality of life in people with MS.

"Positive experiences significantly affected the participants' perceptions of the quality of their lives and symptoms of depression, even when taking into account age, education and disease-related factors, such as mobility, vision and cognition," Phillips said. "People with MS typically rate the quality of their lives lower than that of the general population, so it is important for people with MS and clinicians involved in their care to understand what factors may improve the quality of their lives."

Study participants recorded the frequency of positive experiences in their lives, such as "I said 'thank you' and meant it," "I said something pleasant to someone who didn't expect it," and "I exercised and felt good about doing it." Phillips found that study participants who reported a higher number of positive experiences also reported having lower levels of symptoms of depression.

"By incorporating positive experiences or behaviors into their lives, people with MS may be able to limit the additional risks and costs of medical treatments for depression. Most of these positive activities are extremely simple to perform and readily available." Phillips said. "Health care providers should encourage people with MS to participate in positive activities every day. Previous research found that people with MS benefit more from frequent smaller activities like smelling fresh flowers, talking with neighbors or writing letters, than they do from larger activities like taking a week-long vacation or buying an expensive outfit that they can only do once in awhile."

The study, "The Influence of Positive Experiences on Depression and Quality of Life in Persons with Multiple Sclerosis," was published in the March 2008 issue of The Journal of Holistic Nursing.

"The current study was prompted by a suggestion from one of the participants in the NIH-funded study. She helped us to develop the survey, which has 35 items that describe activities that could improve mental or physical health," Phillips said. "That's the beauty of this tool. These activities can be adopted by people with other chronic illnesses."

Well, I guess with my crappy attitude/lack of "positive experience" about THIS latest load of fecal festive research, I should be wheel chair bound in NO TIME...at least according to the research statistics. I simply cannot BELIEVE we as a nation are spending MONEY on things like this...money that certainly could have been better spent toward improving the "positive experience" of an MSer who can't afford their medications (Hey LISA E. ...maybe we can apply for a grant from the NIH to get YOUR MS medications paid for, thus furthering the theory proposed above?!? Let's talk...)

Must go medicate now...I've given myself a headache BANGING MY HEAD ON THE DESK REPEATEDLY in a fitful self reality check. Yep, I really AM awake and reading this...