The Psychology of Beating an Incurable Illness - Neuro Note #3

For this Neuro Note, I chose to focus on the diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis (MS). I have learned about this diagnosis throughout my education, but I have never done much research outside of the classroom. From what I have learned thus far, I know that MS is a condition in which a person's immune system begins to attack its own CNS, destroying and damaging myelin and nerve fibers that are responsible for transmitting signals to and from the brain and spinal cord. I chose to learn more about MS because I know that it is a diagnosis that I will commonly see as a future OT practitioner, and I have always been fascinated by illnesses that have been labeled as "incurable". 

Because of this, I chose to listen to "The Psychology of Beating an Incurable Illness", a Ted Talk by Bob Cafaro. Bob starts his Ted Talk by introducing himself as a professional Cellist and describing his love for playing the cello. He then describes how he first started seeing signs of MS when his right leg started to go numb. From this first sign, he then started to lose his peripheral vision in both eyes, his hands were numb, he started to experience extreme stomach pains and nausea, and he felt as if a current of electricity was traveling through his body constantly. Bob stated that the moment that he recalls most vividly is when he went to see an Ophthalmologist, who told him "I am going to write you a note for permanent disability".

From that moment, Bob started to dedicate all of his time to beating this incurable illness. His determination to reverse the effects of MS was backed by his goal of returning to play in the Orchestra by 6 months. He started to look into different solutions that he could use. For one of his solutions, he describes the powerful effects of the Placebo Effect. For 20-30 minutes a day, he would meditate and convince his body that the MS was leaving his body. He also describes how he was hiking one day and saw a sign instructing hikers not to feed the deer. The sign stated that if you feed a deer human food such as chips and candy, you significantly reduce its life expectancy by 30%. Bob took the information from this sign and applied it to himself, thus adopting the natural lifestyle of a deer and only drinking water and eating healthy plant-based foods. Finally, he started to research humans who had achieved the impossible and adopted aspects of their lives. Every morning he began with yoga, meditated, weightlifted, cycled, etc. In every aspect of his life, Bob was focused on beating his incurable illness.

Bob started to regain the use of his legs, his eyesight came back, his stomach pains went away, and most importantly, he regained the use of his hands. Bob was able to return to playing in the Orchestra by 6 months. When he went back to his neurologist and underwent scans to monitor the progress of his MS, the neurologist was shocked to see that there were no more lesions present from Bob's last visit. Somehow Bob had achieved the impossible and completely reversed the progress of MS. 

While I know that there will always be stories such as Bob's with every "incurable" illness, and that his methods might not work for everyone with MS, there is still much to be learned from this Ted Talk. Bob demonstrates how much power a person's mind has over their health. The act of staying optimistic, being determined, maintaining hope, and being confident in your own abilities can have so much power. This might sound simple, but having that kind of mindset is extremely difficult. Setbacks happen, life might not go as planned, and experiencing failure is inevitable. Something that you have 100% control over, though, is your mindset. 

I think that this is very important to remember when it comes to working with clients in the future. Being an OT does not only mean helping a client with physical limitations, but also working with the mental and cognitive aspects of daily life. It is important for not only us to remain optimistic, determined, and hopeful, but to also encourage this mindset in our clients. 

This Ted Talk was very inspiring and I recommend that anyone who is interested in MS go and watch it. 

[TedxTalks]. (2017, January 23). The Psychology of Beating an Incurable Illness | Bob Cafaro | TedxCharlottesville [Video]. Youtube. https://youtu.be/ZqoRGr3icTo