Working in PR with MS: why our industry needs to rethink resilience

There is a version of me that existed before multiple sclerosis.

She was always “on”. Thriving in the pace, the pressure, the unpredictability that comes with working in communications. Like many in PR, I wore busyness as a badge of honour.

And then, MS arrived and quietly, and at times not so quietly, began to reshape everything I thought I knew about myself, my work and my resilience.

For those less familiar, multiple sclerosis  is a neurological condition that affects the central nervous system the brain and spinal cord. It disrupts the way messages are sent around the body, which can result in a wide range of symptoms including fatigue, problems with balance and coordination, cognitive difficulties often described as “brain fog”, and issues with vision or mobility. It is a lifelong condition, and while it is manageable, its impact can be unpredictable and varies from person to person.

As we mark MS Awareness Week (20-26 April) , I don’t just want to share my experience. I want to challenge our industry to think differently about what strength really looks like and what people are often carrying behind the scenes.

The PR industry has a resilience problem

PR is built on pace.

We are expected to be responsive, available, energetic and consistently high performing. It’s an environment that rewards stamina but rarely questions sustainability.

MS disrupts that model entirely.

Fatigue, brain fog, and fluctuating symptoms don’t align neatly with deadlines or demands. Some days you can operate exactly as you always have. Others, it can feel like you are moving through quicksand or as if an invisible force is pulling your focus backwards just as you try to move forward.

Your mind, at times, doesn’t feel like your own.

And yet, our industry continues to operate as if everyone is functioning at the same level, every day.

That’s not just unrealistic it risks leaving people behind.

The invisible weight

MS is often invisible.

From the outside, I still look capable, composed and in control. But invisibility can be its own challenge. When people can’t see something, they can overlook it or minimise its impact.

There is a quiet pressure to keep going, to maintain the same output, to not let anyone see the struggle behind the scenes.

But the reality is, living with MS can at times be overwhelming. There are moments of doubt questioning who you are now, what others think of you, and whether you are still capable of performing at the level you once did without question.

That internal dialogue can be as challenging as the condition itself.

Life doesn’t pause

At the same time as navigating MS, I became a mother.

And that, in itself, is a profound shift.

Balancing a demanding career, a long-term condition and motherhood brings a different level of complexity. There is no pause button. You continue to show up for your child, for your work, for your responsibilities even on the days when it feels harder than it should.

Over the past few years, I have also experienced significant personal change. Some positive, some deeply challenging. Together, they have reshaped how I see the world, how I prioritise and how I define success.

I have always prided myself on being resilient. But the last few years have tested that in ways I never expected.

A conversation that stayed with me

Recently, a colleague reached out to me after being diagnosed with MS.

She wasn’t just worried about her career she was worried about everything. What this diagnosis would mean for her life, her future, her identity, and yes, her ability to continue in the profession she had chosen.

That conversation brought into sharp focus how isolating this can feel at the beginning.

Because while MS is manageable, the uncertainty around it is what can feel overwhelming.

Redefining resilience

Before MS, I thought resilience meant pushing through no matter what.

Now, I see it differently.

Resilience is not about ignoring what you are dealing with. It’s about adapting to it. It’s about finding a way to continue not by doing everything the same way, but by doing things in a way that works for you now.

MS, for me, is heightened by stress. And PR, by its nature, is a high-stress environment.

So, adaptation becomes essential.

You learn to manage your energy differently. You prioritise more clearly. You become more aware of yourself and of others.

And perhaps most importantly, you begin to understand that strength is not always visible.

The role of our industry

This is where I believe our industry and in fact, all industries need to take heed.

Because behind every professional showing up to work, there may be challenges, pressures or personal traumas that are not immediately visible.

We need to move beyond surface-level conversations about wellbeing and towards genuine understanding.

That means:

• Recognising that people’s capacity may fluctuate
• Creating environments where openness is met with support, not judgement
• Rethinking what high performance actually looks like
• If we continue to define success by constant output and availability, we risk excluding talented, capable people who simply cannot and should not have to operate that way.

Thriving, not just surviving

MS is part of my life now. But it does not define my ability.

I continue to build my career in a sector I have loved since I first discovered it as an 11-year-old, reading about public relations in a library book. That sense of excitement and possibility has never left me.

What has changed is how I approach it.

I work differently. I think differently. I lead differently.

But I still believe deeply in my own ability, and in the value of the work we do as communications professionals.

MS is manageable. It requires adjustment, awareness and support but it does not remove potential.

A different understanding of strength

If there is one thing MS has taught me, it is that people are often carrying far more than we realise.

And yet, they still show up.

They still contribute. They still lead. They still deliver.

Perhaps it is time we recognised that as a different kind of strength.

Because resilience is not about pretending everything is fine.

It is about continuing, even when it isn’t.

And that is something our industry and others, would do well to understand.

Samantha Livingstone is a Chartered PR professional and Fellow of the CIPR. She is a former chair of CIPR Northern Ireland and founded Rumour Mill Creative Communications.

New this week

As YouTube turns 21, here are 21 ways video is changing PR forever

Is ethics just a tick box exercise?

From Claude to Perplexity, the changing role of answer engines in PR

Planning an IPO? Here’s your pre-IPO internal communications playbook

The rise of the reading retreat: five of the best