Living with MS often requires flexibility, and connection is no different. Fatigue, pain, overstimulation, transportation challenges, and unpredictable symptoms can make traditional plans feel overwhelming or unrealistic. Rather than stepping away from connection altogether, it can help to adjust the structure of how you gather.
Consider something like a book club. On the surface, it may seem simple. In reality, there are countless creative ways to change it up to fit your energy and needs. We hope this helps inspire you to adapt these ideas to your favorite hobbies or interests.
Traditional Book Club: A group decides on one book to read and has a set (often monthly) meeting date and time that they will get together to discuss it.
Creative Alternative Ideas:
- Audiobook Club: Instead of reading a physical copy of the book, you listen to the audio book (bonus, you’ll know how to pronounce all of the names!). Another audio idea would be to pick a specific podcast episode or series to listen to and discuss.
- Asynchronous Book Club: Make a Facebook group where members can leave their thoughts (text or video comments) on the book as they progress and each member can participate when they want.
- Reading Retreat Book Club: This club only meets once per year, but it’s for an overnight retreat to read and have book discussions together in a cozy space.
- Movie or TV Show Club: Everyone picks a movie or TV show to watch and discuss. You could also choose book-to-screen adaptations and debate the merits of each format.
- Silent Book Club: Everyone brings their own book (or a group pick) to a quiet location and you read silently together, with an optional discussion time at the end.
- Pick-Your-Own Book Club: Everyone reads the book of their choice and gives a book report or review at the group gathering.
- Short-Form Media Club: The group focuses on shorter pieces of writing such as essays or plays.
- MS Education Club: Pick an MS Education Program (might I suggest our Spring Education Summit on April 11th?) to watch or attend and then have a discussion about the topics presented.
Other things to consider when forming a social group of any kind:
- A “club” can be any number of people. It’s helpful to have a regular set meeting time (such as the first Tuesday of the month at 6:30), but it’s also important to set realistic expectations around flexibility to accommodate unpredictable MS symptoms. Consider meeting every other month if monthly seems like too much. If you don’t have a regular date, be sure to get the next date picked before everyone leaves the meeting. Scheduling later when you’re not together can be much more of a hassle.
- You can choose to meet at a business that has great accessibility to show your support. Libraries often have free meeting spaces that can be reserved for groups and they have good accessibility. This avoids putting the responsibility of hosting on one member. You could meet over Zoom or by phone if you’re unable to get together in person.
- Your social group can revolve around any interest that you have: arts, crafting, advocacy, games, travel, puzzles, sports, music, fitness, gardening, technology, collections, the possibilities are literally endless. Think about what brings you joy and go from there.
- The key word here is creative! Mix and match these ideas, choose what suits your needs and interests. If something about a group feels stressful, evaluate to see if you can change it up. There are no real rules! A social group should feel reasonable and meaningful to you.
The goal is not to replicate what worked before MS, it’s to promote connection in a way that works now. Whatever type of social group interests you, small creative adjustments can keep you engaged while respecting your limits.
