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MS Ireland considers evidence based research in all areas of our work but particularly within the services we provide. You can read below about the research based services we provide and how you can get involved.
MS Ireland provides a number of evidence-based programmes that provide health promoting physical activity for people with MS. Primarily the research evidence comes from our collaboration with the MS Research Team at the University of Limerick. That collaboration and the evidence that it yields began in 2006 with the Getting the Balance Right programme and continues now with programmes like Better Balance and Step it Up.
Mindfulness is the practice of cultivating non- judgemental awareness in day to day life. It can be considered a psychological therapy which uses meditative tools that can be used to improve one’s outlook, provide coping strategies to deal with life’s stresses and changes. It involves learning to focus attention on emotions, sensations and thoughts in an accepting and non-judgemental way. By focussing fully on the present moment rather than on the past or the future, mindfulness helps to break the cycle of negative thoughts and emotions.
Let me share an incident that happened to me on a Luas recently. I was lucky enough to have nabbed the last available seat on a packed tram at rush hour in Dublin. I noticed an older lady standing beside me and I could nearly predict the scene that unfolded before my eyes. A Good Samaritan noticed that this older passenger needed a seat and looked straight in my direction. She asked me to give up my seat for somebody more deserving and I replied no. The Good Samaritan proceeded to shout all over the Luas about my lack of common decency and how people these days have no manners or respect. Outwardly I looked ok, this woman had no idea that I had been enduring MS fatigue since the moment I had woken up that day.
This Christmas, it is time to gather your family and friends, work colleagues, school pupils and youth groups, or you local club members, and don your best (or worst!) festive Christmas Jumpers!