Although Selma Blair is in remission from multiple sclerosis, she still considers herself a “beginner” when it comes to navigating her health.
The 52-year-old actress — who was diagnosed with the autoimmune disease in 2018 — admitted that although she’s spent years being an advocate for others dealing with MS, that doesn’t mean her own journey is easy.
“By no stretch of the imagination am I here to say, ‘Hey, my life’s perfect. I feel great.’ I am someone that always has to think of myself as a beginner,” she tells PEOPLE. “I am relapse-free now and I am in a really good space, but there was a time when even the advocate had to learn again and say, ‘Oh wait, you don’t know everything.’”
“So in some ways, I feel like a pro because it’s something that I’ve gone through and lived with and talked to so many doctors, but I am still a beginner in a way,” she continues. “And I think we always have to have that beginner’s mind so that we are open to other options and don’t just settle.”
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Blair explains that there are still times where she feels horrible both physically and emotionally. The Cruel Intentions star has to remind herself to sit in those emotions rather than running away from them in order to “formulate a plan” of how she can get help.
In the past, doing so is what ultimately led to her switching to a more suitable doctor who helped get her health on track. The Legally Blonde actress is no longer walking with a cane and her speech has improved significantly.
“The chronic health journey, it’s not always linear,” she adds. “There’s so many different variables and I just know to never give up.”
Blair also emphasizes that one of the biggest game changers in her MS journey has been the support she’s received since going public with her everyday struggles, which she didn’t do until several months after her diagnosis.
“My saving grace when things have gone really sideways, has been the kindness of strangers that have come to my aid,” she shares. “And I can’t express that enough because sometimes the world can be very isolating in a chronic disease health journey and as anyone knows, there’s ups and downs. But talking to people can really unburden you.”
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“I didn’t have a community. So selfishly, [sharing my story] subconsciously was my way of finding community too,” she continues. “I don’t think I could have done it without the support of strangers that found some solace in who I was at the time and what I was sharing.”
That’s one of the reasons Blair is partnering with EMD Serono on Express4MS, encouraging people to tell their stories and hear other people’s stories in hopes of better advocating for themselves and their health.
“That worked for me and I would love to just amplify that for people. This has always been something that’s very dear to me.”
Blair tells PEOPLE that a few years ago she didn’t think she would even be where she is now because of how bad her MS was — and never imagined advocating for people with the disease.
“It really is a full circle moment,” she notes. “Now that I am feeling so great and positive and hopeful about the future, I just want to help other people feel that too by finding their own village so they can get to the next level.”
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