Episode 29 Interview with Jonathan (MS WARRIOR)

Jonathan is a registered nurse from the state of Massachusetts that was diagnosed with MS in 2022. Jonathan is the Director of Operations with the Department of Mental Health, inpatient mental health services, for the State of Massachusetts. Jonathan talks about how he went from the clinical side helping others to the one who needed the help dealing with his diagnosis. Jonathan talks about his journey getting his diagnosis and the misdiagnosis's he went through, partly because he was experienced as a healthcare professional, and also, because he was running from the disease. He talks about how he battled with his mental health and how he handled the diagnosis. Jonathan and I have a great discussion on how important it is to address your mental health and how the mental part can be more difficult than you can think. Jonathan explains how he had to reset and make the necessary adjustments to help his mental health and uses scuba diving as his tool for therapy. Jonathan also talks about support and how important your family and friends are excepting and understanding the disease. We also talk about how important it is to find something something that interests you to use as a release. Jonathan and I also get into an amazing conversation about advocating for yourself and he, as a healthcare professional, advises how to do it. He also discusses how important it is to track your symptoms and have the information for your doctors. Jonathan, thank you so much for sitting down and talking to me and utilizing your expertise and experience as a mental health RN! You are filled with so much valuable information and I appreciate you wanting to help people understand MS and the mental health part of the disease. Follow on TikTok @msmichiganman64 Instagram @msmichiganman64 FaceBook @Brian Wallace Brunswick Ohio