And what I plan to do differently in 2026 and beyond
2025 has been a real year of change for me. Good change and not-so-good change. Some challenges have forced me to start doing things a bit differently. And there have also been some lovely things I’m very grateful for.
Support that matters the most
One of those lovely things is the change I have seen in my husband when it comes to my condition. He’s really stepped up this past year. We have been through our challenges, and MS sure does bring a lot of additional ones. This past year, I’ve really felt his advocacy for me. I’m sure it was always there before, but he’s spoken for me in a way he’s not done before, and it changes everything.
He’s made arrangements and asked others to change plans to accommodate me without me having to even bring it up. It feels really good to have someone in your corner and really get you. Quiet, whole-hearted support, without pity, is incredibly powerful. An unspoken word, an understanding without needing to explain. I’m sure it will change everything for us moving forward.
The importance of a meaningful job
At the end of 2024, I gave up on a Marketing path to get back into Customer Service. I found a very similar role to an old job that I loved in the past. I get to speak German again and work in a similar-sized team. It feels like I rediscovered my purpose. I slotted right in within a short period of time, and I’m loving it. It has made me realise how important work is to me. It gives me a sense of purpose, challenges me every day, and I can’t imagine ever having to give it up. I hope I can stay healthy enough to never have to; it does play on my mind occasionally.
Nobody cares if I don’t drink alcohol
In this past year, I drank very little alcohol. It wasn’t anything I planned, and I have never been a big drinker to begin with. What sealed the deal was my new smartwatch showing me the direct correlation between disturbed sleep after even a small tipple. I have been aware of this for years, but never saw the proof in numbers. And when you have an energy-limiting chronic condition, sleep quickly moves to the top of the priority list. Staying sober just becomes a negligible sacrifice.
What I didn’t expect was how easy it was to simply say that I was not drinking alcohol. General thinking is definitely shifting around this topic, and I have really felt that. There are lots of non-alcohol options available everywhere, and people don’t seem to ask why you’re not drinking or push you to “just have one” or “not be boring”. It’s honestly refreshing.
I need to heal my gut, and I can do it without depriving myself
If you know me, you’ll know that I’ve tried a fair few dietary changes in the hope to improve the MS and fixing my bowel. Aside from MS, I suffer from frequent bouts of Diverticulitis, very painful infections of pouches in my large bowel. The pouches themselves are very common in the Western world; a lot of people have them without even realising. It’s when things get stuck in there and infected that it becomes a problem. I can go from feeling completely normal to high infection markers within 24 hours. I have not managed yet to stave off an infection without antibiotics. And there lies the problem. I know the antibiotics are poison for my gut health. My gut health is vital for everything, managing MS, reducing daily symptoms of diverticular disease and general good health. But without antibiotics, I get very poorly, very quickly, and I risk a bowel perforation, which is a medical emergency.
This year, I’ve had four rounds of antibiotics for diverticulits and I need to prioritise fixing that. Each time I have an infection, I have to change my diet completely and extremely lower my fibre intake to rest my bowel. I have to be super careful to slowly introduce fibre again in the weeks after. I have been forced to eat and think differently about what I previously thought I was missing out on. Turns out, when something is genuinely making you feel rubbish, it’s pretty easy to say no to.
So, I’m carrying this new wisdom into 2026 and taking baby steps to heal my gut permanently, without crazy diets depriving myself of large food groups.
I have finally reframed my thinking around exercise
This one has taken such a long time. I have finally ditched the internal narrative that exercise has to be tough to be effective. Again, I was kind of forced to work this out. My mobility has been declining ever so gently, but consistently. I have started so many specific exercise programs in the past, and signed up for even more that I never started! What do they all have in common? They are too overwhelming to stick to.
I have found a small handful of exercises on YouTube that are gentle enough for me but still challenge me. And I have noticed improved balance and strength. The first improvement I’ve had from exercise in literally years. Maybe I will do a more targeted exercise program in the future, but for now, I’m over the moon to have found something simple and free that will keep me motivated and consistent.
So there we have it. 2025 turned out to be quite the learning curve! Health-wise, it hasn’t been amazing, but it forced me to change things up, and I learned so much from that.