Living Well with Multiple Sclerosis

Can tapping help calm MS stress and anxiety? In this episode of Living Well with MS, host Geoff Allix speaks with Lauren Fonvielle, an Emotional Freedom Techniques, or EFT, Trainer, about tapping as a tool for stress reduction, emotional awareness and nervous system regulation.  Lauren explains what EFT is, why it is sometimes called tapping, and how it combines gentle pressure on acupressure poin...

Can exercise help your brain and body adapt when you’re living with MS? In this episode of Living Well with MS, host Geoff Allix speaks with Dr Gretchen Hawley, a Doctor of Physical Therapy and Multiple Sclerosis Certified Specialist, about movement, neuroplasticity and living well with MS. Dr Hawley explains how exercise can support strength, balance, walking and everyday confidence. She shares w...

MS is not a “white person disease”. In this episode of Living Well with MS, host Geoff Allix speaks with Minnie St. Claire, a Canadian entrepreneur, digital content creator and advocate living with multiple sclerosis and bipolar disorder.  Minnie shares her MS journey, including early symptoms, years of denial, relapse, treatment decisions and learning to take her health seriously. She also talks...

Dr Aaron Boster, an award-winning, board-certified MS neurologist, answers practical questions from the Overcoming MS community on symptoms, treatment and living well with multiple sclerosis.  The conversation covers supplements, fatigue, menopause and HRT, gut health, inflammation, DMTs, stable MRI scans with worsening symptoms, weather sensitivity, bladder and bowel issues, swallowing problems,...

MRI scans are a familiar part of MS care – but what are they actually showing, and what might future scans reveal? In this episode of Living Well with MS, host Geoff Allix speaks with MRI physicist Bhavana Solanky from the Queen Square MS Centre at University College London, where she develops advanced MRI markers to better understand multiple sclerosis.  Bhavana explains how MRI is used to diagno...

What does your gut have to do with your immune system, your brain and the way you feel day to day with MS? In this episode of Living Well with MS, host Geoff Allix speaks with Kim Venter about gut health, the microbiome and why food may play an important role in supporting overall wellbeing with multiple sclerosis. Kim, who lives with MS herself, is a trained teacher, professional psychological co...

After her MS diagnosis, Betsy Mueller ran across America. In this episode of Living Well with MS, Betsy shares how she went from fear and uncertainty after her diagnosis to completing a 3,000-mile run from Santa Monica to Central Park to raise awareness of MS. Betsy shares the early symptoms that led to her diagnosis, the emotional weight of living with invisible symptoms, and how fear and uncerta...

How can movement support you to live well with MS, especially when symptoms like fatigue, pain or balance changes get in the way? Physiotherapist Jody Barber joins Vickie Hadge and Gina Beach to answer community questions on movement, exercise and living well with multiple sclerosis. Drawing on more than 30 years’ experience supporting people with neurological conditions, Jody explores how physiot...

What happens when you experience MS symptoms, but don’t yet have a diagnosis? In this episode of Living Well with MS, we hear from Maureen Haith, who first experienced neurological symptoms in 2002 but wasn’t diagnosed with multiple sclerosis until 2019. Along the way, she was told she had clinically isolated syndrome (CIS) – a term many people are unfamiliar with, but which can be an early stage...

What’s the best way to approach exercise with multiple sclerosis? In this bonus from the archive episode of Living Well with MS, Trevor Wicken explores neuroplasticity, “neural edge” and how to find a movement routine that works for you. Trevor Wicken is the founder of The MS Gym and a neuromuscular movement specialist who supports people with MS through brain-based movement, mindset, education an...

For many men with multiple sclerosis, diagnosis brings uncertainty and fear – and it’s not always easy to talk about. In this episode, Steve Rose, a psychotherapist living with MS shares his perspective on men’s mental health, from coming to terms with diagnosis to managing stress, anxiety and changing identity over time. He explores the importance of mindset, the role of mindfulness and rest, and...

Navigating disability benefits with multiple sclerosis can feel overwhelming – especially when symptoms are invisible, fluctuating and difficult to measure.   In this episode, Social Security disability attorney Nancy Cavey speaks to Overcoming MS Program Facilitator Vickie Hadge to explore how MS is assessed in disability claims, when to consider applying, and what steps you can take early to str...

Making lifestyle changes with MS is one thing. Making them stick is another. In this episode of Living Well with MS, we speak with pharmacist-turned-health coach Dr Amy Behimer about why healthy habits can feel so difficult, especially when fatigue, stress and unpredictable symptoms get in the way. Drawing on her own experience of living with primary progressive MS, Amy shares a compassionate, evi...

What does it really mean to live well with multiple sclerosis over the long term? In this episode, we’re joined by writer, podcaster and MS advocate Ardra Shephard, creator of Tripping On Air and author of Fallosophy: My Trip Through Life with MS. Ardra shares her journey from diagnosis in her early twenties to becoming a powerful voice in the MS community. Together, we explore the realities of vi...

Welcome to Living Well with MS podcast, where we are joined by Alison Potts. Alison is a meditation coach, wellbeing mentor, meditation teacher-trainer writer and teacher in self-care, meditation, and wellness. Largely due to her own healing journey with MS, she is passionate about teaching the power of cherishing our individuality and intuition, sharing practices to connection to our innate state...

What role can diet play in autoimmune health, and what does the science say about plant-based eating and multiple sclerosis? In this episode of Living Well with MS, we speak with Dr Elizabeth George, a board-certified family physician and co-founder of the Healthy Eating Adventure programme. With more than 40 years of experience in preventive care, she shares why she began exploring the impact of...

What role can diet play in supporting brain health and living well with multiple sclerosis? In this episode of Living Well with MS, we explore the evidence behind the Overcoming MS diet recommendations and how small, consistent changes to the way we eat can support long-term health. Overcoming MS Program Facilitator and nutritionist Karen Lee explains the research linking diet quality with MS outc...

How do you build a sustainable career with multiple sclerosis? In this episode of Living Well with MS, Heather Carrasco shares how her diagnosis reshaped her relationship with work, rest and self-advocacy. Diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 2023 – though her symptoms likely began years earlier – Heather reflects on navigating the US healthcare system, learning to manage fatigue at work, and...

We are pleased to welcome Dr Valter Longo to this episode of Living Well with MS. Dr Longo is the scientist behind the Fasting Mimicking Diet. He is a bio-gerontologist and  cell biologist  serves as a professor at the  USC Davis School of Gerontology  and as the director of the  USC Longevity Institute . He is the creator of the fasting-mimicking diet, a program that claims to mimic the effects o...

What does it really mean to parent with multiple sclerosis, and how do you talk to your children about something so unpredictable? In this episode of Living Well with MS, we’re joined by Julie Stamm – MS advocate, author and mother – for an honest and uplifting conversation about raising a child while living with MS. Diagnosed in 2007, Julie turned her experience into advocacy, determined to be op...

If you’ve ever felt stuck between knowing what could help you live well with MS and actually making it stick, this conversation is for you. In this episode of Living Well with MS, Overcoming MS Program Facilitator Laura Crowder explores the ‘change your life for life’ pillar, the inner work that helps make lifestyle changes feel sustainable rather than overwhelming. Laura is joined by Overcoming M...

How can mental health support be better tailored to the real, lived experiences of people with MS? In this episode of Living Well with MS, we’re joined by Dr Eva Fragkiadaki, counselling psychologist and Senior Lecturer in Counselling Psychology at the University of the West of England. Her whose work focuses on developing personalised, evidence-based mental health interventions for people living...

Originally broadcast in 2020, this episode has been edited to remove out-of-date content and reuploaded in 2026 to ensure it remains relevant and useful.  In this episode of the Living Well with MS podcast, and we are pleased to welcome Dr Aaron Boster, an Ohio-based board-certified clinical neuroimmunologist specializing in MS. Given we are surrounded by temptations – from that delicious pint of...

How does gut health affect MS – and what role can diet really play in supporting the immune system? In this episode of Living Well with MS, Geoff is joined by Overcoming MS Program Facilitator Karen Lee – retired intensive care nurse, nutritionist, author and recipe developer. Karen shares her MS journey and explains, in clear and accessible terms, how gut health, inflammation and diet are connect...

Host Geoff Allix speaks with Caroline Clarke, Chief Executive of the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust and former trustee of Overcoming MS, about her MS journey, why she chose to follow the Overcoming MS Program, and the practical habits that help her manage stress while working in a high-pressure role.