💖 Loving Yourself on Love Day (#Valentine’sDay)
MS, Intimacy & the Courage to Stay Open (Even When Your Body Has… Let’s Call Them “Creative Interpretations”)
Ah, February…
The month where grocery stores explode into red confetti, chocolate boxes start stalking you, and every ad assumes you’re living in a perfume commercial.
But for those of us navigating life with MS, Love Day can bring up a quieter, less sparkly thought:
“Can I really trust my body enough to let someone get close?”
(Translation: Will my body behave, or will it go off-script like an actor in an improv class?)
🌩️ When Your Body Is the Unreliable Narrator in Your Love Story
Living with MS is like living with a slightly dramatic roommate who never tells you their plans.
You don’t just wonder:
“Do I have energy today?”
You’re also thinking:
Will my body cooperate if I want intimacy—or will it hit me with the ‘Not Today, Babe’ message?
Will I disappoint my partner if I need a pause, a nap, or a 3-business-day recharge?
Will they still find me attractive when I don’t quite recognize myself?
Can I even relax when my nervous system is acting like it’s auditioning for an action movie?
MS doesn’t just mess with nerves and muscles.
It sneaks into intimacy, identity, and how we show up with others—and with ourselves.
So we brace.
We anticipate.
We hold back.
Not because we don’t want love…
but because love starts to feel risky.
🫥 The Hidden Cost: Protecting Yourself Until You Disappear
Here’s the plot twist no one warns you about:
In trying to avoid rejection, pain, or exhaustion…
you can slowly fade yourself out of your own relationship.
You may:
Stay in your head instead of your body
Track symptoms instead of sensations
Play the “It’s fine, I’m fine, definitely fine” game
Reduce yourself to your diagnosis
Or fight it relentlessly until you’re exhausted
Suddenly intimacy becomes a management task, not a moment of connection.
And frankly?
That’s not sexy.
That’s a full-time job.
💗 What If Love Didn’t Ask You to Disappear?
Self-compassion during flares isn’t just about rest days or gentler self-talk.
It’s also about how you allow yourself to show up in love.
Here’s your Love Day reframe:
🌟 You don’t need to turn your MS into the main storyline. But you don’t have to hide it backstage either.
You can let it have a seat…
just not the best seat.
This looks like:
Letting MS be part of the picture, not the director
Honoring your limits without letting them define your worth
Staying present in your body (even if it feels like a rental some days)
Allowing softness, pleasure, and affection—even when conditions aren’t “ideal”
You’re not betraying your body by enjoying love.
You’re not betraying love by respecting your body.
Both can absolutely coexist.
(They may even be soulmates.)
💞 Intimacy Isn’t a Performance — It’s Presence
Especially in February, where media sells us the “effortless, passionate, always-on” romance fantasy…
Let’s be honest:
Intimacy with MS often looks more like:
Slower
Softer
More intentional
More honest
More attuned
More “Let’s take a break, hydrate, and try that again”
And sometimes intimacy starts with something beautifully radical:
Showing up exactly as you are, without apology.
Maybe that means:
Saying “I need a pause”
Enjoying touch without worrying about the next step
Letting yourself be adored today, not in a nostalgic past version of yourself
This isn’t lowering standards.
This is self-respect wearing silk pajamas.
💘 A Love Day Kind of Love (The Good Kind — The Real Kind)
So maybe Love Day isn’t about fireworks, fancy dinners, or proving your desirability through grand gestures.
Maybe it’s about:
Trusting yourself one small moment at a time
Letting love meet you where you are
Staying connected to your evolving self
Choosing compassion on the messy days, the flare days, the “I need rest” days
Because the relationship you have with yourself?
That’s the one that shapes every other kind of lovetoday and every day.
💌 Ready to Find Your Way—Without Losing Yourself?
If this resonates, MS Clarity: Finding Your Way with MS was made for you.
It’s not about fixing anything.
It’s about understanding your body, your energy, and your identity—
and learning to live fully with MS, not against it.
👉 Discover MS Clarity and take your next step with gentleness and confidence.
You deserve love.
From others.
And deeply, wholeheartedly, from yourself. 💗
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