Ask Anita Duffy and Helen Hamilton what they think of their adopted city Inverness and they’ll tell you the same thing – it saved their lives.
The pair, who live with multiple sclerosis, both moved to the Highland capital when they were at their lowest ebbs.
For Anita, 57, it was after she was forced out of the nursing job she loved because of MS symptoms that occasionally put her in a wheelchair.
Helen, 52, came to Inverness to escape a spiraling deterioration in her mental health.
The road ahead was uncertain. But in Inverness’s wide-open spaces and fresh air they soon found their health improving.
Combined with meet-ups and activities organised by their local MS Society chapter that helped cement a firm friendship between the two, their futures were transformed.
“I was in quite a dark place,” says Anita, who is originally from Glasgow.
“I remember walking down Argyle Street, something that I used to do all the time. It was with my husband and I could hardly get down that street [because of MS]. I just couldn’t do it anymore. It was just awful.”
Anita’s mum is from Inverness, so when the chance came to move, she took it. She hasn’t looked back.
“Coming up to Inverness, everything was brand new,” she says. “Everything’s close at hand, the air is clean and there is a slower pace of life. The stress was taken off me and I started to improve.”
A focus on mental well-being in MS Awareness Week
Anita and Helen are speaking out about their experiences on behalf of MS Society Scotland for MS Awareness Week (April 24-30).
For the first time, the MS Society has joined forces with six other MS charities – Shift.MS, MS Trust, MS-UK, Overcoming MS, MS Together and the MS Therapy Centres – to mark MS Awareness Week.
This year the focus is on mental wellbeing and people are being encouraged to discuss how MS makes them feel, think or act using the social media hashtag #MSMakesMe.
For Anita and Helen, the awareness week is a chance to highlight activities supported by the MS Society that make living with MS easier.
Despite their improvement, both have MS symptoms that impair everyday life.
Anita, who was diagnosed with relapsing remitting MS in 1999, has fatigue, brain fog, and bladder and bowel problems.
Helen was diagnosed in 2005 and has secondary progressive MS. Her condition is stable but she continues to have pain and muscle spasms.
But while the physical symptoms are challenging, the mental toll can be just as demanding.
Which is why during the lockdown, the pair got involved with Creativity in Care, a Scottish community interest company that offers face-to-face and online creative programmes.
Through that, Anita rekindled an old love affair with painting and jewelry-making. Helen discovered the joy of crocheting, along with other creative arts.
Good to know ‘your brain hasn’t completely atrophied’
The new hobbies alleviate some of the stress and anxiety associated with their condition.
“I painted a picture yesterday,” Helen says with delight. “It’s always nice knowing that you can learn new things and your brain hasn’t completely atrophied.”
Anita says the arts classes have brought the two friends closer together – along with other benefits.
“We now have somebody to go to craft shops with,” she says. “And we don’t have to worry about the other person being bored.”
MS Awareness Week runs from Monday April 24 to Sunday April 30. To find out more, click on the MS Society website here.
