Shopping For Ways To Make Shopping Less Of A Chore? (NAPSA)—While shopping can be as easy as breathing for many people, for some the task can seem overwhelming. Following these tips from the National Multiple Sclerosis Society can help to make shopping a more enjoyable and relaxing experience. Buy holiday gifts all year long. This helps keep shopping less taxing on your body and your budget. Consider buying presents from catalogues or online. You can also patronize manylocal stores over the telephone. Some stores mayevenoffer free delivery. Manylargeretail stores offer personal shoppers to help or you can hire a personal shopper from a private service. Shop when your energyis high andtraffic is low. This is typically in the early morning orlate at night. Plan ahead. Call the stores you're interested in to find out if there are access barriers you may need to know about. Bring a friend to act as your “reacher” to help pick up dropped itemsor get those on high shelves. Students can be great helpers. Call the job office at high schools and colleges. If you can’t hire one, call youth groupsfor volunteers. Churches, synagogues, and social organizations are also good sources for volunteers. For Joyce Render Cohen, a frequent contributor to InsideMS, a magazine that deals with issues surrounding the disease, shopping is therapy. “My attitude in dealing with MS is to continue doing what I enjoy, even if that means changing If you’re one of the many peo- ple with multiple sclerosis, you can view shopping as a pleasure, not pain. Take someone with you for help. how I doit,” Render Cohen added. “Years ago as an interior designer, I shopped for clients; now I window-shop for enjoyment. Looking in discount stores, luxury boutiques, and food markets always gives me pleasure, even if I buy nothing.” Multiple sclerosis is a chronic disease of the central nervous system. It is usually diagnosed during the primeof life, just when people are beginning careers and starting families. Symptoms are unpredictable and can include numbness, blurred vision, fatigue or paralysis. The National MS Society supports more MS research and serves more people with MS than any other national voluntary MS organization in the world. For more information, or to find the chapter nearest you, you can log onto the Website at www.nationalmssociety.org, or you can call toll-free 1-800FIGHT-MS.
