Selma Blair Reveals To Fans That She Has Multiple Sclerosis


Celebrities have often struggled with privacy issues. When you are in the public eye, you can expect everything about your life to be broadcast to everyone but you still may want to control it to a certain extent. Very few celebrities are open and vulnerable on social media but Selma Blair just took that step.

The actress from Cruel Intentions, Anger Management and Legally Blonde discussed a health issue she has on Instagram. She announced that she is living with multiple sclerosis, a disease that involves the central nervous system. Multiple sclerosis can cause “extreme fatigue, lack of coordination, weakness, tingling, impaired sensation, vision problems, bladder problems, cognitive impairment, and mood changes.”

View this post on Instagram

I was in this wardrobe fitting two days ago. And I am in the deepest gratitude. So profound, it is, I have decided to share. The brilliant costumer #Allisaswanson not only designs the pieces #harperglass will wear on this new #Netflix show , but she carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers her shoulder to steady myself. I have #multiplesclerosis . I am in an exacerbation. By the grace of the lord, and will power and the understanding producers at Netflix , I have a job. A wonderful job. I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for directions from a broken gps. But we are doing it . And I laugh and I don’t know exactly what I will do precisely but I will do my best. Since my diagnosis at ten thirty pm on The night of August 16, I have had love and support from my friends , especially @jaime_king @sarahmgellar @realfreddieprinze @tarasubkoff @noah.d.newman . My producers #noreenhalpern who assured me that everyone has something. #chrisregina #aaronmartin and every crew member… thank you. I am in the thick of it but I hope to give some hope to others. And even to myself. You can’t get help unless you ask. It can be overwhelming in the beginning. You want to sleep. You always want to sleep. So I don’t have answers. You see, I want to sleep. But I am a forthcoming person and I want my life to be full somehow. I want to play with my son again. I want to walk down the street and ride my horse. I have MS and I am ok. But if you see me , dropping crap all over the street, feel free to help me pick it up. It takes a whole day for me alone. Thank you and may we all know good days amongst the challenges. And the biggest thanks to @elizberkley who forced me to see her brother #drjasonberkley who gave me this diagnosis after finding lesions on that mri. I have had symptoms for years but was never taken seriously until I fell down in front of him trying to sort out what I thought was a pinched nerve. I have probably had this incurable disease for 15 years at least. And I am relieved to at least know. And share. ???? my instagram family… you know who you are.

A post shared by Selma Blair (@selmablair) on

“I was in this wardrobe fitting two days ago. And I am in the deepest gratitude. So profound, it is, I have decided to share. The brilliant costumer #Allisaswanson not only designs the pieces #harperglass will wear on this new #Netflix show, but she carefully gets my legs in my pants, pulls my tops over my head, buttons my coats and offers her shoulder to steady myself.

I have #multiplesclerosis.

I am in an exacerbation. By the grace of the lord, and will power and the understanding producers at Netflix , I have a job. A wonderful job. I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things. My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for directions from a broken gps. But we are doing it . And I laugh and I don’t know exactly what I will do precisely but I will do my best. Since my diagnosis at ten thirty pm on The night of August 16, I have had love and support from my friends , especially @jaime_king@sarahmgellar @realfreddieprinze @tarasubkoff@noah.d.newman.

My producers #noreenhalpern who assured me that everyone has something. #chrisregina #aaronmartinand every crew member… thank you. I am in the thick of it but I hope to give some hope to others. And even to myself. You can’t get help unless you ask. It can be overwhelming in the beginning. You want to sleep. You always want to sleep. So I don’t have answers. You see, I want to sleep. But I am a forthcoming person and I want my life to be full somehow. I want to play with my son again. I want to walk down the street and ride my horse.

I have MS and I am ok. But if you see me , dropping crap all over the street, feel free to help me pick it up. It takes a whole day for me alone. Thank you and may we all know good days amongst the challenges. And the biggest thanks to @elizberkley who forced me to see her brother #drjasonberkley who gave me this diagnosis after finding lesions on that mri. I have had symptoms for years but was never taken seriously until I fell down in front of him trying to sort out what I thought was a pinched nerve. I have probably had this incurable disease for 15 years at least. And I am relieved to at least know. And share. ???? my instagram family… you know who you are.”

2.3 million people around the world are affected by multiple sclerosis and 200 new cases are diagnosed weekly. Some forms of MS can be aggressive, leading to paralysis but others may be managed with medication or therapy. Most people with multiple sclerosis live a normal lifespan

Blair is living with MS but she doesn’t believe she is ‘suffering’. She doesn’t want people to label her now that her diagnosis is public.

Blair thinks that she has been living with MS for about 15 years. That could account for her outburst on a plane in 2016. She started yelling at staff and passengers and said it was due to alcohol.

“Someone gave me a pill that I thought was something I had taken before which I don’t take on a regular basis,” she said. “It was something completely different, a very bad choice, and I had a total psychotic blackout. And it was horrible and frightening, and I had empathy for myself actually afterwards, because it was actually so out of character for me, especially now that I’m a mother.”

Multiple sclerosis can cause mood changes so it may certainly have played a part in the outburst.

This isn’t the only medical problem that Blair suffers from. She also went on Instagram to post an x-ray of her neck showing that she has degenerative disc disease.

Even though she has these health issues it seems as if she is not letting them slow her down.


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