To provide emotional support and empowerment to young people with multiple sclerosis after the diagnosis, in order to improve their quality of life through psychological and social support sessions. This will help the young people improve their ability to face the diagnosis and live with the symptoms of the disease, thus reducing the risk of suffering anxiety or depression and increasing their perception of emotional well-being.
Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a neurodegenerative disease that affects the central nervous system. Depending on the area of the nervous system in which the lesions occur, it causes a variety of symptoms, such as extreme fatigue, problems in walking, speaking and/or visual and cognitive problems.
The first symptoms occur in young people at a time when they are planning and starting to consolidate their personal, family and professional lives. This brings with it a series of emotional and social repercussions that affect aspects such as their families, partners, friends and work. The drastic changes in these situations often lead to a worsening of their self-esteem and self-concept. This emotional drain starts after being informed of the diagnosis or even earlier if the patient already suffers the symptoms but does not know they have the disease.
People who receive psychological support develop a greater ability to adapt to the diagnosis and face the difficulties, and they are better able to continue living their lives in spite of the limitations imposed by the disease. However, the high cost of psychological assistance makes it difficult for many young people to access this type of support.
The project consists of providing psychological assistance to young people with multiple sclerosis while also teaching them strategies to help them face the disease and improve its management. To this end, the project provides a psychologist and a social worker who specialise in the emotional effects of multiple sclerosis. Apart from emotional support, young people receive information about the disease and all the available resources that allow them to improve its management from both the medical and the professional standpoint.
First of all, a preliminary interview is arranged with a psychologist and a social worker to assess and detect the social and emotional needs of the young people.
Once they have been defined, a decision is made about the activities in which the young people will take part and then the activities are planned. They may be performed individually or in a group and will have a duration of about 10-14 sessions.
After performing the activities, a survey will be conducted to assess the degree of satisfaction of the young people and their improvement will be established using standard scales.
The direct beneficiaries are 50 young people diagnosed with multiple sclerosis aged between 18 and 35 and who require support.
Amount raised thanks to Repsol Employees commitment: € 1,249.08
Fundación Repsol donates € 5,000