Brave Disney Wandavision Star Emma Caulfield, 49, Ford Reveals Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis After Inspiration From Six-Year-old Daughter

“My daughter has changed my perspective, as I think anybody who is a parent can attest. I know that she has a 30% greater chance of coming down with this, just luck of the draw for her. She's six. She's just started first grade…. It got me thinking about her and how full of joy and active she is, and she's just such a remarkable little creature,” Emma told the tabloid magazine.

RELATED: Brave Actress Selma Blair Shines in Gap Ad, Decades After Working For The Retailer Thriving Through Multiple Sclerosis

“I'm not actually doing everything I can for her because I have my mouth shut,” she continued. “If I have a platform at all, I should be using it. Even if it affects my ability to get work…. It's better for me to at least be vocal about this and be out there to try to help the MS Foundation and other groups who are doing research.”

Emma was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosisdescribed by Mayo Clinic as an autoimmune disease in which the body’s immune system attacks its own tissuesback in 2010.

One of her first symptoms of the disease was feeling “pins and needles” in her body.

“I woke up one morning and the left side of my face felt like there were a million ants crawling on it. That feeling when you've sat in a position too long,” she said, noting that her skin “sort of went” numb after the feeling subsided.

“I wouldn't say completely numb, because I could still scratch it and feel my nails. But it was extremely dull,” she added. “I was moving everything. It was just constantly itching. I would take a needle [and do] a little pain test just to see…. There was clearly a lack of feeling. [The acupuncturist] was like, ‘You might want to go get an MRI. You might as well make sure. I'm sure it's nothing.’

When the MRI ultimately revealed she had MS, Emmawho lost her dad to the same disease years priorrecounted telling “no one,” not even her sister about her diagnosis.

She explained further, “My parents knew. Obviously, my husband knew. I kept it very quiet, even with my friends who were first with me, [I said,] ‘Hey, guys. No, I think it's a misdiagnosis.'”

Emma, who looks to Selma Blair as inspiration for battling MS, admitted she didn’t want to give anyone a reason not to hire her, as she thought that talking about the disease would lead her to stop working.

However, now that Emma has opened up about her condition, she hopes doing so will help others in the same battle.

“If me talking about this offers some solace or encouragement to somebody who has it, that's so great…. I don’t own this condition,” she said. “My experience is simply my own. I could never tell anybody else what to do if they have MS. I'm not an expert, I'm not a doctor. I am just me. This is how it feels for me.”

Understanding MS

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a disease in which the immune system eats away at the protective covering of the body's nerves.

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.

Most people experience their first symptoms of MS between the ages of 20 and 40. Typically, one of the first symptoms of this disease is vision-related: Blurred or double vision, red-green color distortion, or even blindness in one eye.

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.

Hope for Multiple Sclerosis Patients

There are 400,000 people suffering from MS in the United States. In Don't Stop Me Now, SurvivorNetTV features the story of one incredible woman who, like Emma, learns to overcome her own hardships, and inspires countless people along the way.

RELATED: Mom-of-Two, 39, Finally Receives Diagnosis for Multiple Sclerosis After an Agonizing 13 Years of Symptoms: 'My Neurologist Brought Me Back to Life'

'Don't Stop Me Now' Is Inspiration for Anybody With Multiple Sclerosis

MS warrior Louise Carr might look perfectly healthy on the outside, but behind her warm smile, a war rages on inside her body.

The disease causes her daily pain, fatigue, memory loss, and restricts movement. But even in her darkest moments, Louise holds true that "I might have MS, but it doesn't have me."

For Louise, switching to a vegan dietcoupled with a focus on more active livinghas been a game changer. Through yoga and Zumba classes, along with riding a recumbent bicycle, she discovered her physical and mental outlook had greatly improved.

SurvivorNetTV Presents Defying All Odds A World-Renowned Doctor's Incredible Journey Through MS

"To my absolute astonishment within a week of becoming vegan my energy levels absolutely shot up. It's changed my life," Louise says.

Louise Carr's story, along with Emma Caulfield Ford, is living proof that mindset does matter.

Coping With Emotions

A cancer diagnosis can be derailing and send you into a down-spin of emotions. And an important way to pick yourself back up is to feel those emotions and let them out. In this episode of SurvivorNetTV's series, "SN & You," survivors share how they handle their mental health and cope with their emotions after undergoing cancer treatment.

Getting a handle on your mental health is important and processing your emotions is one of the first steps. Cancer survivors say that first you must let the emotions out, find your support system, and live your life.

SN & You Presents Mental Health: Coping With Emotions

"People that are strong cry, it's the weak ones who try to hold it in," says Evelyn Reyes-Beato, a colon cancer survivor.

In this episode, you'll hear several women, all of whom are cancer survivors, talk about their experiences dealing with cancer and navigating life after a diagnosis. Many of these women get very emotional about what they have gone through. It just goes to show that crying and being open with your emotions are part of the healing process.

SurvivorNet has other great mental health resources for you, including more films that will inspire you.

One Young Woman's Inspiring Battle With Von Hippel-Lindau Disease, A Rare And Mysterious Condition

Contributing: SurvivorNet Staff

Learn more about SurvivorNet's rigorous medical review process.

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