Every time a celebrity makes the choice to talk openly about a health condition that is affecting them, they help lessen the stigma of that condition, raise awareness around it, and hopefully help make other “ordinary” folks who suffer from those conditions feel less alone. Whether the celeb simply discloses their diagnosis or launches a whole campaign about it, they impact the way that the public views that diagnosis and maybe even help people seek out appropriate treatments! This can be especially powerful when it comes to often overlooked and underdiagnosed illnesses that we don’t talk about frequently.
Multiple Sclerosis (M.S.) is one of those illnesses. In the few years since American Actor Selma Blair came forward about her struggle with M.S., it seems like we’re finally talking about it as a culture. She detailed the emotional toll that the physical illness had on her, revealing that flare-ups had caused her to self-medicate and push herself to her limits just to “feel normal.” She said that her diagnosis brought her some much-needed relief. The same appears to be true for primetime Emmy winner, former child actor, and movie star, Christina Applegate who just received her diagnosis a few months ago, sharing it with her fans and followers on Twitter last Monday.
Hopefully, Christina Applegate and Selma Blair’s respective openness about their struggles with Multiple Sclerosis will inspire someone who may be experiencing symptoms of M.S. to go and get checked out by their doctor. You can check out some of the more common symptoms to watch out for here, but keep in mind that some symptoms can have many, many explanations, not all of which are illness or disease.
Have you ever been inspired to look up a condition after hearing about it from a celebrity? If you could raise awareness about a health condition, which one would you choose?
