Overcoming Adversity Like Christina Applegate
- Resilient actress Christina Applegate, 52, has revealed she was able to walk without a cane during her recent family vacation in The Netherlands and Paris, something which she often struggles to do as she’s living with Multiple Sclerosis (MS).
- MS is a serious disease of the brain and central nervous system that can lead to permanent disability, and it’s something Christina Applegate, 52, was diagnosed with in August 2021.
- There is no cure for MS, but MS warriors battling the disease do have methods to manage their symptoms.
- Overcoming adversity can seem daunting but having a plan can make it feel achievable. It’s important to remember that setting goals and breaking them into smaller steps is key. When going through a difficult time try setting a goal, making a plan, relying on others, and using positive self-talk.
- Resilience is an important trait to have in the face of adversity such as cancer or leg weakness amid MS, like Applegate deals with on a daily basis.
- SurvivorNet spotlighted this important disease-fighting trait in the film “Resilience,” now streaming on SurvivorNet. It follows the lives of three athletes who are living with a health challenge yet overcame adversity.
Applegate’s ability to walk more than usual during her trip offers herself, fans, and other people living with MS, some hope through adversity. The actress has been living with MS, a disease which impacts the central nervous system, since August 2021, a diagnosis that came more than a decade after she dealt with a bout with breast cancer in 2008.
Read MoreAs for her time spent in the Netherlands, Applegate told Sigler, “It was great and I ended up walking … like, I couldn’t believe it. The first couple of days I walked with my cane. And then I started to feel like that was actually hindering me a little bit in some weird way.
“All of a sudden this strange superpower just took over and I just ended up walking without my cane the whole rest of the time … and was amazed by it because I, for two years, haven’t gone over maybe 2,000 steps in a day. Like, that’s it. And I was looking at my Fit Bit and it was like 9,000 [steps] a day.”
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When Sigler brought up Applegate previously telling her she might be renting a scooter or something to help for the trip, Applegate explained, “Well, I got an electric wheelchair to bring and I ended up not bringing it because it was so huge and I had a bad feeling about Martyn [her husband, Dutch bassist Martyn LeNoble] having to take it in and out of vans … and I just didn’t want to put on a burden.”
She continued, “My whole thing was ‘Don’t be a burden to everybody’ … and that’s a big thing you feel like you are the burden and I was the caboose.
“You know, anytime we did walk anywhere or ride bikes, I was always way behind and I always felt bad … but I didn’t care. Like, they could leave me in the dust, I know how to get around … I’m a big girl. But thank God I didn’t bring it because the rental car we got in Amsterdam was a compact … we couldn’t even almost fit any of our suitcases in there. So I ended up not bringing it.”
However, Applegate was pleasantly surprised and grateful that she didn’t need that electric wheelchair on her trip, because she does need a wheelchair in airports.
“I need wheelchairs in the airport … that is. It’s a game-changer. Of course, on our way back they didn’t have one in the airport in Paris and or when we landed in LAX, so that was a bit of struggle,” she explained.
“But even though I was on the list, they still let me go through the wheelchair part of customs, which was like 500-people deep and I got to go through the wheelchair line with my whole family, which was like … game-changer.”
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Applegate then pointed out how the chaos and stress that may arise in the airport “will start to shutdown” her body as she copes with MS.
“My legs will just go to noodles and be done. And I get flipped-out, major anxiety, which I’ve never felt before,” she said, noting how she couldn’t never get around with any type of cart or wheelchair in airports.
Sigler then brought up the importance of having a “purpose” to see how much more one can do with their body amid MS, something which Applegate admits she can lose sight of at times, especially in the moments leading up to her family trip in the Netherlands.
Applegate, who initially expected she might have to be in her hotel room most of her trip, explained further, “I think that being new to this … the devastation of it has taken over, to the point where I don’t want try. And I think that’s probably the same for other people who are a year or two years in … or even 20 years in. This feeling of just giving up and ‘I’m never going to be better’ and ‘I’m probably just going to get worse’ … like all those things go through your head and I was so afraid of this trip.
“I didn’t want to be a burden. I didn’t want to hurt myself. I didn’t want to over exert. And I did take those moments for myself, like, when they wanted to ride bikes for four more hours, I was like, ‘You know what? Not for me.’ And I was OK with it.”
She also admitted it was hard being “the little caboose” during the whole trip, but she worked through it with the support of her loved ones and a kind outlook toward herself and what her body is dealing with.”
Applegate continued, “What we have to remember, and I think this goes for everyone in our lives, they are suffering through this with us. They feel horrible that we feel like this and kind of this beautiful humanity came out of it … of real selflessness.”
The “Dead To Me” star revealed it’s the mornings when she feels the most like a “burden” and “the most pissed off.”
She warned to anyone with a new MS diagnosis that if you stay “stagnant” your symptoms will worsen, but only “temporarily,” explaining if one just pushes through the hard times things will get better.
“I am the worst MSer ever. I am doing the polar opposite of what I’ve been told to do. Like exercise and eat a Mediterranean diet, and all these things your told to do by your neurologist … and I’m like, ‘I don’t feel like it,'” she also admitted.
Applegate also urged others to maintain their means of support and encouragement through adversity, saying, “I think anyone listening to this, who has this, I hope you all just feel like what we feel and just know that your not alone. And feeling those feelings of desperation and to have a friend … to sit there and look at the positive side of it, because I … 99% of the time don’t look at the positive.”
She added, “I look at the negative side of it and get bummed out and self-loathing, and all of those things and pissed off and resentful.” However, Sigler pointed out how it’s important to “feel” and go through the ups and downs of a health struggle.
“Don’t Stop Me Now” Is Inspiration for Anybody With Multiple Sclerosis
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Christina Applegate’s MS Journey
Applegate began experiencing symptoms Multiple sclerosis, potentially disabling disease of the brain and spinal cord, 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 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.'”
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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.”
Resilience Through Adversity
We love Christina Applegate was able to walk a bit without her cane during her recent vacation, something that is often difficult for her to do as she’s living with MS, which is why we’d like to point out how SurvivorNet specializes in covering the lives of people who overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Often, seeing the positive helps them maintain their resilience.
WATCH: Defining and Building Resilience
Dr. Zuri Murrell, an oncologist at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, previously spoke to SurvivorNet about the role of a positive outlook on survival rates, saying, “I’m pretty good at telling what kind of patient are going to still have this attitude and probably going to live the longest, even with bad, bad disease. And those are patients who, they have gratitude in life.”
Resilience is an important trait, but not the easiest to build. The ultimate goal is not to avoid tough times, but to be able to bounce back from them. And yet, when they are faced with an overwhelming, life-changing situation, how do people shift their view? How do they learn to see the problem as temporary, rather than permanent, and figure out a solution?
It’s complicated, because building resilience is more about your mental and emotional fortitude than anything else. According to the American Psychological Association, “the resources and skills associated with more positive adaptation (i.e., greater resilience) can be cultivated and practiced.” In other words, resilience is not something you’re born with, which should be encouraging. Instead, after every challenge in your life, you build more and more resilience to those hard times.
You can build resilience the way you build muscle – through patience and steady exercise of the skill. Here are some lessons taken from Fischer, Runkel, and Soller, all who have spoke with SurvivorNet in earlier interviews.
- Be willing to learn. If one way doesn’t work, find a different way. If an obstacle lands in your way, build a path around it or over it. In Resilience, one of the athletes says, “You always have to be learning. Otherwise, life gets stagnant.” The more you learn, the more you grow and growth is a sign of resilience.
- Spend time with people who inspire you. Our world is filled with people who overcome challenges, and their success can energize you to overcome your own. Think about famous people who hava faced adversity and did not give up Stephen King actually threw his manuscript, Carrie, in the trash because it had been rejected by publishers so many times. His wife encouraged him to keep sending it out, and he finally sold it in 1974 launching a massively successful career as a novelist. Take the time to read and learn about the lives of Helen Keller, Jackie Robinson, Bethany Hamilton, Nelson Mandela, and others.
- Allow yourself to grieve. Don’t push away or dismiss your frustration and sadness. Ben Fischer says that life can be filled with lots of crying, but “Those cries make us stronger.”
- Be flexible. Abandon the idea that there is only one solution or that you must stick to your original plan. The best solution or plan is the one that eventually works. You may need to change your original plan as the circumstances change.
- Lean in to your community. Your friends, colleagues, and family are invaluable, and when you’re feeling stressed or overwhelmed by a problem, their support can carry you. The Harvard Study of Adult Development is the longest study of human well-being. Many news outlets have covered its results, which show that maintaining strong, healthy relationships helped people live longer lives. Psychiatrist and author Dr. Samantha Boardman tells SurvivorNet that connecting with and contributing to the lives of other people are two of “the three wellsprings of vitality” (the third is feeling positively challenged).
Facing Cancer: How to Turn Stress into Strength
If you’ve been through a difficult health challenge or any type of adversity throughout your live, Dr. Boardman told SurvivorNet in an earlier interview that one way to get your mental health back in check after a diagnosis is to try to play up your strengths.
“I sometimes will ask patients, tell me about yourself when you were at your best,” she explained. “Using that story, trying to figure out what strengths come to mind. Is it patience? Is it appreciation of beauty? It is perseverance? [Then we can] use those strengths in constructive ways to navigate their cancer journey.”
Dr. Boardman says another way to approach harnessing the strength you already have is by tapping into your values. This could be family, close friendships, spirituality, or commitment to a healthy lifestyle.
Reminding yourself of what your values are and how you are living accordingly is another way to unleash that inner strength.
Lastly, patients shouldn’t underestimate the value of simply opening up, Dr. Boardman says. This could mean speaking to a close family member or friend, or it could mean seeking support in other ways by finding a therapist that meets your needs or looking into joining a support group.
Having negative feelings throughout a health struggle is to be expected, however, doctors will tell you that people who find a way to work through the emotions and stay positive tend to have better outcomes.
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.
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, so it’s absolutely incredible and encouraging that Applegate was able to present an award in front of so many people at the Emmys.
Currently, there is no cure for MS, although some people treat the disease using chemotherapy, medications, or steroid drugs.
Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff
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