Living with MS: A Journey of Resilience

In this episode of Living Chronic, Brandy Schantz speaks with actress Siana Smith, who shares her journey living with multiple sclerosis (MS). They discuss the challenges of getting a diagnosis, the importance of community support, navigating work with a chronic illness, and the lifestyle changes that have helped Shana manage her health. They also touch on the role of therapy, mental health, and the power of sharing stories to uplift others in similar situations.

Transcript

Brandy Schantz (00:01.518)
Hi, you're listening to Living Chronic. I'm Brandy Schantz and today I am here with Siana Smith. She is an actress and she is currently living with multiple sclerosis. So a fellow chronic illness warrior, welcome.

Siana Smith (00:16.36)
Hello! Thank you so much for having me.

Brandy Schantz (00:19.598)
So thank you so much for doing this. always I love having people on from all around the world because so often I think especially here in the United States we think oh we have all of these problems We're the only people that have these problems How do we fix them and of course I've learned over time that we all no matter where you live encounter some of the same problems in our day-to-day lives and the healthcare system

and in just finding life in general challenging and figuring out how to overcome those challenges. So I really love these. So thank you again. So if you could tell me a little bit about your story.

Siana Smith (01:00.678)
So I began getting symptoms, I think, in around 2020. It started with I had a bit of eye pain and my eye went really bloodshot. But with these things, especially with MS and the symptoms that you get, they'll only last for a couple of weeks and then they go away. So then you ignore it and then the next thing happens and it's like a repeating cycle.

And then in 2021, the most notable thing that I had was a thing called Lamitz or Lamites, depending how you pronounce it. I'm not sure how it's pronounced properly, which is an electric shock sensation that goes down your neck and your spine. Sometimes it can go to your legs and your arms. And I would get that every time I would bend my neck forwards. And I remember I was filming a self tape and I got these sensations and I thought, what is going on?

So then I was going back and forth from the doctors from 2021 until March of 2024 when I actually got my diagnosis. yeah, in between that time, I was not really sure what was going on, but also living my life, trying to get by when I would get sensations or feelings that I didn't know what it would be. So at the time I was working in a scare attraction when I was experiencing a dead leg.

and sometimes I'd have to run to emergencies or get there quite promptly. And I remember getting down to my team and we'd be laughing because I'd say, my god guys, like my leg is so dead, I don't know what's going on. And we'd just be laughing about it because no one knew what it was. I thought I'd just had like a pinched nerve. So I was experiencing that. I also experienced a lot of back pain, which I still get now as well. But yeah, throughout this time, I wasn't really sure what was going on. And then once I got the diagnosis, I was able to look more into it and...

Yeah, now I know how to kind of handle my body a bit better and look after myself. So yeah, that's how I've ended up here and doing my chronically iconic with MS page.

Brandy Schantz (02:57.454)
That's the story. So many of us, we spend years trying to get a diagnosis. And I think we hear from various sources, you know, well, what does it matter if you have an actual diagnosis? You know what you're dealing with sort of, you have some symptoms, is that not enough to push you forward? But you really don't know how to adjust to your own body until you get that diagnosis. And once you have that diagnosis, that's when you start learning

Siana Smith (03:03.493)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy Schantz (03:27.102)
And you have that capability to reach out to others with your diagnosis and say, hey, I'm experiencing this. How about you? And I think that's one of the big stories of all of our lives. Yes, we needed that diagnosis because it helped us to get to the next phase. How do we live our lives with this disease?

Siana Smith (03:31.069)
Thank

Siana Smith (03:44.924)
Definitely. And I found that when I was going through the main bulk of my diagnosis from 2023, when I had an MRI and I wasn't really sure what was going on and I was waiting for those results to come back, I was scouring the internet and I was trying to find like-minded people that were going through the same sort of symptoms that I was. And because I kind of had a gut feeling that I knew it was going to be multiple sclerosis anyway, I was looking at

people's pages that were doing videos or posts about that but until I had the diagnosis I didn't feel like I could reach out to them or say to them like hey yeah I might have it but I also might not so like I just didn't want to message them because I didn't know if it was that for sure so then once I got the diagnosis I did and I was able to then message people and reach out to them and say hey I've just been diagnosed how did you deal with this and how like yeah so it was

Brandy Schantz (04:30.062)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (04:42.618)
it was nice to get that diagnosis to then also build a community of people that are in the same position.

Brandy Schantz (04:50.862)
That's what's so important, the community, because you can't do this alone. And as of today, well, it's been six days now, we're recording during Mental Health Awareness Month. And I think that's such an important point to drive. It's that community that helps you get through these things, because we're all struggling. It isn't easy. It's not easy for anybody. Nobody's waking up and doing so much better than anyone else. We're all struggling and trying to figure out how to live each and every day.

Siana Smith (04:53.48)
100 % No.

Siana Smith (05:11.016)
Thank you.

Siana Smith (05:17.083)
Yeah.

Brandy Schantz (05:21.098)
And that is the important part, that community piece. You have a specific situation. I just think this is so wonderful. You're an actress. And we all know about Christina Applegate, of course. She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. And she took a break from acting because these are difficult things to do in your body. So I just think it's so tremendous. You're still out there.

Siana Smith (05:32.871)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (05:45.448)
Hmm.

Brandy Schantz (05:48.691)
doing something that could be so physical. How do you prepare yourself for roles knowing that you have to also prepare yourself for whatever and that's this serving up to you for this.

Siana Smith (05:59.208)
It's difficult because every role is different. The last role that I done, it was quite nice actually because we had a lot of downtime. And I think that's with a lot of acting jobs, you do get a lot of downtime because that's when the crew are setting up for the next scene or the director is going over the blocking. So you do get that downtime, but then sometimes it's really full on.

Brandy Schantz (06:03.054)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (06:25.552)
And for me, I find that if I know I'm going to have a really full on day, I have to make sure that I've got a down day the day after or as soon as possible so that I'm not going to be overdoing it too much. And then just making sure that, yeah, when I'm on a job, I'm looking after myself. I'm staying hydrated, sitting down when I can as much as I can. And if I need anything, I will just talk to the crew or talk to people on set or whatever the job is that I'm doing and say.

I just need to take a minute and sit down. But I find that I'm quite fortunate in that because my MS hasn't progressed too much, a lot of the symptoms that I do have I know how to handle and I know what I need from them. So I think I've got it well managed.

Brandy Schantz (07:12.282)
I think that's just so wonderful and setting the boundaries, I think is really one of the keys and it's something that many of us struggle with. How do you go into work and say to your boss, I have boundaries. I have a really tough day. I need a little bit easier day. Maybe I'm walking around all day on Wednesday, Thursday, I need to be down and sitting in the office. Have you ever encountered any difficulties with that on a job?

Siana Smith (07:17.096)
you

Siana Smith (07:41.16)
Do you know what I haven't? think I was actually having a conversation with someone from the MS Society about this a few weeks ago. And I was saying, I think I've just been really fortunate that the people that have come into my life that are, whether it's through friendships or work and professional settings, I've been quite lucky that they're really understanding people. So I've never had to feel stressed about putting my boundary across. I know that

Brandy Schantz (07:43.31)
So great.

Siana Smith (08:11.15)
my workplaces I do work out because I'm a freelancer so when I'm not acting it's just doing whatever job I sort of can find. I've not struggled to talk to any sort of manager in a position and yeah I've found it quite easy and a lot of the people I work with are friends as well so they look out for me too. I think I've just been really fortunate but I know that's not the case for everyone.

So I think I would just, if I didn't find myself in this position, I think it would be, I would maybe pull my manager aside and say, hey, like with my MS, I am feeling quite fatigued today. Would it be okay if I have more of an admin office day than I have on the floor? Or just trying to, I guess, let them know what you need. And the thing is, if you don't tell them, you're gonna end up having more time off work. So then you're not gonna be able to support them either. So.

Having that communication, I think, is so important.

Brandy Schantz (09:10.718)
Absolutely. Well, I think sharing our stories as well. When you tell the stories about these great coworkers and bosses and HR departments that really support you and have found a way to help you to stay employed, to be your best, to do your best work and still be able to take care of your body and your health, I think those stories start to get to many other bosses in HR departments and coworkers.

Siana Smith (09:14.598)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (09:36.889)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy Schantz (09:39.318)
And it's never going to be everybody. can't change human nature. We can't change the entire world and make everybody fall in line and do lovely things for disabled people. But I do think that sharing the stories are important. I recently spoke with somebody in South Africa who was diagnosed with lupus. And her boss really stood up and championed her. really just he advocated for her and said, no, I understand who this is. Let me help her. And I thought,

Siana Smith (09:58.408)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (10:02.566)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (10:06.465)
Brandy Schantz (10:09.294)
My goodness, there's so many of us around the world who end up unemployed because once you start becoming ill and you need to take time off work, so often people say, well, okay, this is it. Or maybe they give you, you know, here in the US, maybe they have some short-term disability benefits. But then once you exhaust those, often people find themselves out of work. So I think it's just wonderful to share those stories just so other

Siana Smith (10:19.686)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (10:31.44)
Yeah.

Brandy Schantz (10:35.436)
bosses, HR departments, coworkers, company executives can hear the stories of how successful a workplace can be when you are accommodating to somebody.

Siana Smith (10:44.176)
Yeah, and it's just having that support because it might just be that I'm able to go to work but I might just need a little bit of a slower day or I might need to sit down a bit more or maybe I do a half day. It's just if I don't communicate that or if I don't speak to people about it then it's not going to happen and maybe if your workplace isn't accommodating and supportive maybe it's not the place to be because we don't need to be around people like that.

Brandy Schantz (10:54.733)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy Schantz (11:10.926)
Now that's true, you know, I wish it was so much easier to change jobs. I talk to people every day and say they're not very supportive at work, but where am I going? I can't find a job or if they, you know, in the United States, often people will refuse to check that little box on their application. Do you have a disability? Because they know that they're going to be weeded out ahead of time. Because now we don't want to deal with that disability. Let's not hire that person.

Siana Smith (11:17.496)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (11:23.762)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (11:35.089)
Yeah.

Brandy Schantz (11:39.704)
I mean, it's illegal, but it happens every day. So it's just so important to have the places out there that you support so that we can continue to share our stories and get more. So you've done a lot to change your lifestyle as well. I know we talk about what does nutrition or exercise or all these different things do for your body. You quit smoking as soon as you.

Siana Smith (11:41.999)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (11:52.904)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (12:06.012)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Brandy Schantz (12:06.988)
were diagnosed, which I think is tremendous. That's a very difficult thing to do.

Siana Smith (12:11.804)
I was very heavy on the vapes at the time, which I look back now and I think I just I actually can't believe how many vapes I would get through because we don't really know what's in them either, which is a bit dodgy. But yeah, as soon as I got my diagnosis, when I spoke to the neurologist and she said, do you smoke? And I said, yeah, I'm vaping at the moment.

she said you need to stop that because that's not good for your brain, you need to cut that out now. And I did, I immediately it in the bin and I didn't go back to it, I haven't touched a vape since and I don't plan on doing it either. And I actually feel better from not smoking it as well, so it's actually benefited me by not having it.

Brandy Schantz (13:00.462)
Congratulations, I mean, that's amazing. I guess sometimes you put your mind to it and you just really focus in and it's like, okay, I'm done with this. I'm not doing this anymore. I think I do it with alcohol pretty frequently, but then I end up going out with friends and having wine. But then of course the next day I'm like, oh, I don't feel so good. I think this is causing me to feel worse. But you know, it is difficult to change something, especially something you've been doing for so long to benefit your health.

Siana Smith (13:07.642)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (13:15.204)
Yeah.

Yeah.

Siana Smith (13:23.974)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (13:28.166)
I think as well, I think it's because I was so scared and seeing a scan of your brain with lesions on it and the neurologist telling you what this is and what's going on in your head, I think I was so scared into, don't want to make this any worse than what it is. I'm just going to cut out whatever I can to help my body recover.

Brandy Schantz (13:33.144)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy Schantz (13:38.668)
Yes.

Brandy Schantz (13:49.174)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy Schantz (13:55.822)
I really, that I understand. The first time they showed me an MRI with lesions on my brain, I said, what does this mean? don't, is this it? Am I gonna be hilarious? Am I crazy? I don't like this. There's a lot of things the doctors tell you, but the minute they say brain lesion, I think most of us step back and say, whoa, what does that mean? I don't like the sound of that doc.

Siana Smith (14:04.968)
Why does my brain look like a Christmas tree?

Siana Smith (14:20.722)
What? Yeah.

No. No.

Brandy Schantz (14:26.574)
I was so afraid of being completely full of dementia before I'm even 50 years old. thought, my goodness, no, can't be, I can't, this can't happen. So it's scary.

Siana Smith (14:34.152)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (14:42.949)
It is. is.

Brandy Schantz (14:46.574)
You do a lot of the same stuff I do. You limit the processed foods, diet. It is important. It does help us feel better. The nervous system is a wacky place. And I still sometimes can't believe how much affects our nervous system, just day to day. And I have some favorites. I love to do my cryotherapy. I love my breathing exercises.

Siana Smith (14:53.723)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (15:11.302)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy Schantz (15:13.73)
You know, I have my girl one peloton every day at DT. I'm doing my breathing exercises because it does help your nervous system, believe it or not. Everybody thinks that I'm crazy. And I'm like, no, I swear. Just look up a DD, do your breathing exercise. good. But you also do the oxygen therapy. So tell me about that and how does that help you?

Siana Smith (15:25.787)
It helps.

Siana Smith (15:32.272)
Yes.

Siana Smith (15:35.992)
So I started doing the oxygen therapy at the same time as I started my DMT, which is Casemta. And for me, I do it once a week, just an hour session weekly. And I found that, my leg numbness that I used to get when I would run has, I don't want to say it's gone away, but it hasn't been present. So I think the oxygen is helping with that. And I just feel like,

It's helping me in so many other ways. When I looked down a list of things that I was having, I was like, oh, that's getting better and that's getting better. The fact that I could run on the running machine blew my mind. I didn't think I'd ever be able to run again because my leg would go so dead. I also had high cholesterol and that's gone down as well. I don't know if it's a mixture of the diet and the oxygen, but there are so many benefits from

the oxygen going into your body that I feel like the true test of time will be when I have my next MRI to see how my brain's doing, how lesions are, and see if that has helped in any way. But I feel really good doing the oxygen therapy. I feel refreshed and I enjoy that hour time as well to just sit in the chamber and chill out. But yeah, I think the healing benefits are really important and

Brandy Schantz (16:58.719)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (17:02.952)
Holistically, I think it's great. So I really enjoy doing it. And yeah, I definitely feel better for doing it. I feel like it keeps me going.

Brandy Schantz (17:12.794)
Yeah, it's it's really interesting to me because well first of all Much like I know you I'm not even science adjacent. I didn't study anything science in college You know, I remember taking an exercise science class. That was it, you know but the complication of the nervous system and there's so much that Neurologists don't understand about the nervous system and I've learned over time you talked to him

Siana Smith (17:23.432)
Me neither.

Siana Smith (17:37.288)
Yeah.

Brandy Schantz (17:40.684)
you know, medical doctor who's not a neurologist and they're really kind of lost. So it's really not that shocking that we get these diseases and it's so difficult to understand. So I always tell people, I know I look crazy to you because I look crazy to me. I don't understand why, you know, if I have an infection in my sinus, you know, it's very simple. I go to the ENT, they do a little test. We know what kind of bacteria is in my

Siana Smith (18:00.072)
Thank

Brandy Schantz (18:10.04)
sinus cavity, we understand how to fix that infection, I move on with my life. But whenever something's happening with my nervous system, there's MRIs, maybe we need to do a CT scan as well. There's different opinions, different doctors looking at them, each one has a different thing to say. And I think, my goodness, can we just get to a single something? And everybody has a different opinion on what works best.

Siana Smith (18:14.994)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (18:32.838)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (18:36.934)
Yeah, I think.

Brandy Schantz (18:37.358)
So I always tell everybody, you know what, I do it all, fine.

Siana Smith (18:40.934)
And I think that's like important as well for people to know that something might work for you, but it doesn't mean it will work for someone else. So it's trial and error and other people might not want to try what you do. So I, I always encourage people to try things, but ultimately it's, their choice on what they want to do and how they want to live their lives. But yeah, I think it's important to raise the awareness of all these other methods that aren't just the traditional.

Brandy Schantz (18:48.589)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy Schantz (18:54.392)
Yes.

Siana Smith (19:10.66)
medication route because they can just help enhance the quality of your life.

Brandy Schantz (19:12.003)
Yes.

Brandy Schantz (19:16.206)
Yeah, they absolutely can. You know, I and I still have the issues, you know how it is, you know, there's nights and I swear they go on and on forever. I just can't seem to get a good night's sleep. I can't sleep. It's not happening. I try I do all the things. But you know, when I do have my routine and I keep one and I try to turn everything off and get to my bedroom two hours preferably before I actually go to bed.

Siana Smith (19:26.286)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Siana Smith (19:40.538)
Yeah.

Brandy Schantz (19:42.614)
And I do my breathing exercises, sit there, everything's off. can meditate, be by myself, I journal, and then I sit down and I read a book. A page turner in my hands, nothing digital, a book. And, you know, know everybody thinks that sounds nuts, like two hours before you go to sleep, you're in bed doing all of this. But for me, it does help me to get a decent night's sleep, you know, at least every once in a while.

Siana Smith (20:08.199)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (20:13.072)
Yeah, I've started reading fantasy, actually. And I never, I never used to read much, I would read a lot of self help books, because there was no narrative to it. So it was easy to just pick it up, read a couple of pages and put it down. And I sometimes really struggle with brain fog and focusing on words and reading. And I don't know, maybe it is the oxygen therapy that has helped me have

Brandy Schantz (20:17.358)
Mmm.

Brandy Schantz (20:33.005)
Yes.

Siana Smith (20:40.354)
less brain fog but I'm able to actually read now and not feel so overwhelmed that I can't compute the words. Sometimes I do if I'm tired but I yeah I'm really enjoying the reading aspect and I yeah I take my book everywhere with me now.

Brandy Schantz (20:47.64)
Yes.

Brandy Schantz (20:57.23)
good for you. I try to do it at scheduled times, you know, in the mornings. I have my brain teasers to try to get my brain to wake up. And then in the evening, it's calmed down with with the book. But I don't know if I, you know, I always tell everyone my brain only has so many hours in a day of functions. So I try to I try to keep that.

Siana Smith (20:58.162)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (21:06.518)
secret idea.

Brandy Schantz (21:22.678)
you know, to have an order of merit list, if you will. That's most important thing I need my brain for today with the least important, and I start there. But hopefully, I'll get to a point where I get a few more hours in the day so I can have my book and read and enjoy it. So, you know,

Siana Smith (21:29.448)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (21:35.624)
See ya.

Brandy Schantz (21:43.074)
The power of support and positivity, think that's so much of the story in every single interview with every person I've ever spoken to. We're not gonna be positive every day, but there is a lot of power in waking up in the morning and saying, okay, I'm gonna be positive and this is gonna be a good day. And you've talked a lot about that support and positivity. How do you think it's helped you to thrive with MS?

Siana Smith (22:01.416)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (22:11.666)
I think it's helped me massively. I think if I had allowed myself to go into myself and not talk to people, not find that support system and not try to see something good in every single day, I think it would have just eaten me up and I would have ended up becoming a real shell of myself. And that's not to say that every day, like you said, is easy or positive because...

For example, this week, this last few days, we're only on Tuesday, I have been struggling a lot and I'm trying to figure out whether or not it's my MS that plays a part in how my mental health is or if it is that I'm suffering with something that I'm not quite addressing. But I've been struggling for the last couple of days, but...

Because I've been struggling, I have been reaching out to people that I trust and have spoken to them and they're really good at helping, well how can we turn this situation around? So earlier I was having a bit of a moment, a message to my friend, just how upset I was and what was going on. She was like, okay, let's strip this back. What can you do right now to help? Why don't you send me a video whilst you're putting your shopping away and tell me what you got? Like I wanna know what it is you've got. And just her give-

giving me those little things I was like, okay, I'll put my shopping away. I don't feel like I'm up to doing a video for her, but I'll do my shopping, I'll put it away and just do these little things to move on to the next thing in the day. So it would be right, put the shopping away. Why don't I now prep my suit and then I can have a shower. I can do my hair. can sort of create that list of doing things. And now I'm in a better head space than I was four hours ago.

Brandy Schantz (24:02.605)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (24:03.664)
I also think that journaling is really important. I journal all the time. think writing down your thoughts can help get it out from here and onto the paper and you can see it a bit clearer. And yeah, just, do feel, and again, I understand that not for everyone this is possible, but to try and see the positive in bad situations. And yeah, that's not always a possible.

thing for people and I understand that some people might be in a worse off situation so it is a lot more difficult for them but I do try to see the positive so for me being diagnosed with MS obviously I'd rather not have been diagnosed with a lifelong disease that I'm never gonna get rid of I mean maybe one day but right now this is something that I have to live with and for me I think I just thought well I can't change this I have to move forward with this

Brandy Schantz (24:44.802)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (24:59.302)
The only way I'm going to move forward is by accepting it, talking about it and doing something positive with the situation I've been given. So that's when I created my Instagram page and my TikTok page because I thought maybe I can help people and I can raise awareness on the situation and make a little community for myself and others. And it's been so positive for me and I don't think I would be where I am now.

in such a positive way with how I deal with my MS if it hadn't have been for me creating those pages and meeting those people. They're all so amazing and we're all going through such a difficult time and supporting one another through that which is I think so beautiful that we can see the light in such a dark diagnosis.

Brandy Schantz (25:48.546)
Absolutely. you know, there's so many times, so many days, I think so many people really focus on the negativity that's on the internet and you know how the world has changed with social media for the worse. But there's also a very positive side to it. And it's that community and that sharing and that positivity and reach out and ability to help others going through something that you're going through yourself because

Siana Smith (26:06.472)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy Schantz (26:18.85)
The truth is these diseases are very lonely. They're very lonely. And if you don't, if we didn't have the internet, you would have to depend on maybe your local hospital having a support group they can point you towards or a community center. But with this, even rare diseases, we're able to reach out and say, Hey, who else has this? And it is so good for our mental health and our wellbeing.

Siana Smith (26:23.026)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (26:35.89)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (26:44.025)
Yes.

Siana Smith (26:50.376)
I agree. I think as well, there's, what I found as well is there are some forums online that can be quite negative with talking about it, but someone pointed out to me, they were like, okay, these forums that have thousands of people in, people aren't going to be commenting saying, hey everyone, I'm doing really well, just wanted to let you know. And I was like, that's such a good way of putting it because

Brandy Schantz (26:51.744)
Yeah.

Brandy Schantz (27:01.426)
yes.

Siana Smith (27:17.69)
If you've got 10,000 people that have just been diagnosed with MS, you're gonna have thousands of those people that are doing fine, they're getting on with their lives, and then there's gonna be the few that are struggling and they've got symptoms that they don't know how to handle or what to do with that. So they go to the forum and they start putting all these comments and then that's when people will then flood in to be like, yeah, me too, me too, me too. So it's trying to remember that when you do see those negative...

Brandy Schantz (27:24.984)
Yeah.

Brandy Schantz (27:40.183)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (27:47.848)
comments or people speaking in a way that might not be uplifting you, that there are so many other people that aren't commenting that are doing okay and they're thriving in their lives.

Brandy Schantz (28:03.5)
No, absolutely. And I think that's why I love so much. I try to put one out occasionally myself. I love the post where somebody just comes out and says, hey, give me some success stories. Tell me about how you're thriving because that's what I really need to see sometimes. And yes, you know, when I'm struggling, sometimes I need to put out that and say, hey, is anybody else going through this? I do not know how to handle this. And that's important. I think it's also important to get out there and say, hey, you know what, guys? I've had this for

Siana Smith (28:14.704)
Yes.

Siana Smith (28:19.079)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (28:26.599)
Yeah.

Brandy Schantz (28:33.483)
you know, four years now. And the other day I had a run for the first time in six months, you know, and share your, you know, what have you achieved? And I think that just gives so much hope in a place that can feel so hopeless sometimes.

Siana Smith (28:41.008)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (28:46.652)
Definitely. Yeah. And I had it with some people when I was diagnosed. A lot of people went away and researched it and would come back and say, you know, I've looked this up. But then there was a very few amount of people that would actually turn around and go, that's really bad that you've been diagnosed with that. Like, I know my friends' mums aren't had it. And when I've been to the hospital,

and I've seen the ward that has the MS patients, they're all in wheelchairs, they're all in beds, like, gosh, I feel so bad for you. That's a really difficult conversation to navigate because they mean well, but also that's probably not the best thing to be saying to someone that's being diagnosed.

Brandy Schantz (29:23.662)
Mm-hmm.

Brandy Schantz (29:28.035)
Yes.

Brandy Schantz (29:33.996)
Yeah. You know, that's the, you know, we have this conversation, you know, so often. I don't even know how to do how do we, how do we make this better? Because people, even when they mean well, sometimes are the death of you. Yeah, you know, you're you feel like you're doing okay. And it's the people around you. You're like, you know, I can't do this. I can't do it. I can't do it. I figured out because people do mean well, but they'll you know,

Siana Smith (29:52.89)
Yeah.

Brandy Schantz (30:04.162)
I read all about your disease and you know, apparently if you just go gluten free, it gets better or I read all about your disease. you trying XYZ? I, you know, had with my Crohn's disease. had, called it the year Crohn's tried to kill me and goodness knows it tried hard. And I mean, it was just a desperate year. We were trying everything. I was constantly at the doctors in the hospital doing, you know, all the things I had a team of professionals and

Siana Smith (30:09.628)
Thank you.

Brandy Schantz (30:31.79)
there was a core group of people who consistently, well, I read that it would just take distance. And so you really think the entire team of professionals I'm working with did not read your little article, you know, you just get so angry sometimes with how negative people can be or dismissive. Oh, well, I read that they could be fixed like this. it's, oh, gosh, why are we dealing with this? And I'm not sure that's a problem that's ever going to be solved. We can do our best to kind of

Siana Smith (30:36.668)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (30:47.932)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (30:57.009)
No.

Brandy Schantz (31:00.536)
communicate how bad that is on our mental health, but how do you ever change human nature? don't know.

Siana Smith (31:07.784)
I guess, yeah, it's something that might not change, but I guess for people that have just been diagnosed and they're dealing with these situations, I think it's important for us to remember that you're so vulnerable in how you feel. And in the moment, you might hear something and because you're so vulnerable, you might just take it in a really bad way. But then,

Brandy Schantz (31:33.198)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (31:35.048)
try not to let that get to you too much and try not to take too much weight from what some people say because ultimately these people mean well, they don't mean to scare you. I mean, maybe some do, but I think for the most part, they don't want to scare you and they're just trying to support you in a way they can and they might not know how best that is. And yeah, when you're in that vulnerable place, it's quite difficult to navigate it. But I think, yeah, to try and not let too many people's comments.

Brandy Schantz (31:40.942)
Yeah.

Brandy Schantz (31:47.715)
Yeah.

Siana Smith (32:05.126)
weigh you down too much.

Brandy Schantz (32:07.724)
Now that's really good advice because it is difficult and I think most of us at some point start to feel overwhelmed and that is some really good advice. Thank you so much for coming on the show. I really appreciate it and I love what you're doing out there on Instagram. So keep being you and putting out that positivity. makes such a big difference.

Siana Smith (32:16.796)
Mm-hmm.

Siana Smith (32:26.664)
Thank you.

Siana Smith (32:34.064)
Yeah, thank you so much and I hope that people will listen to this and find some support in it and know they're not alone.

Brandy Schantz (32:43.084)
No, absolutely. Thank you so much, Shauna.

Siana Smith (32:46.044)
Thank you. Have a nice rest of your day.