This article has been published in partnership with Roche Pharma India.
For around 2 lakh people in India, life with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) is a quiet, invisible struggle. Most are in their 20s and 30s — years spent building careers, raising families, and planning for the future. Yet despite affecting so many, MS is widely misunderstood and often goes undiagnosed. People face exhausting challenges largely unseen.
MS is a condition where the immune system attacks the protective coating of nerves, slowing signals between the brain and body. This makes everyday tasks such as walking, thinking clearly, and keeping up with routines much harder. The symptoms are often invisible: fatigue that won’t go away, numbness, blurred vision, dizziness, chronic pain, or mental fog. Because these struggles are not obvious, many feel isolated, misunderstood, and exhausted.
However, the silver lining is that timely treatment and support can make a real difference.
Below are three stories of Indians living with MS, showing resilience, adaptation, and what it really takes to live with this invisible condition.
Asmita More: Navigating work and identity
Tied carefully around Asmita More’s arm is an orange ribbon tattoo — a quiet yet powerful symbol recognised across the world for Multiple Sclerosis (MS) awareness. But beyond the tattoo is a woman determined not to let a diagnosis define the life she continues to build for herself.
A public relations professional, explorer, and traveller, Asmita has always thrived on movement, ambition, and independence. When her body began sending unfamiliar signals in 2021, the experience felt deeply disorienting.
It started with blurred vision, waves of exhaustion that rest could not fix, dizziness, recurring hospital visits, and moments where even simple routines felt unusually difficult. Like many young professionals balancing demanding schedules, she initially brushed it aside as stress or burnout.
By 2023, after months of uncertainty and delayed diagnosis, doctors confirmed she was living with MS — a long-term condition where the immune system attacks the protective covering of nerves.
“The first thing I thought about was how this would affect my work and professional life,” she recalls.
Even routine tasks at work became exhausting. Conversations were harder, thoughts felt scattered, and colleagues sometimes saw her as inefficient — highlighting how workplaces struggle to understand a condition that isn’t visible and the impact on her professional identity.
Today, Asmita continues to travel, work, and advocate, using her voice to push for more empathetic workplaces and greater awareness around invisible disabilities. For her, living with MS isn’t about giving up ambition — it’s about adapting, learning to move differently, and holding on to what makes her who she is.
Watch Asmita’s story here:
Aditi Thakur: Motherhood, sacrifice, and resilience
For Aditi Thakur, life once moved with comforting predictability. She was a successful dentist, a doting mother, and deeply rooted in family life and professional purpose.
Then came the dizziness. At first, the vertigo and tingling sensations felt temporary — easy to dismiss amid the scurry of everyday life. But when the symptoms persisted, doctors revealed something unexpected: Aditi was living with MS.
The diagnosis arrived during what she describes as an otherwise healthy phase of life. The hardest part, however, was grieving the fading possibility of having a second child — a deeply personal sacrifice that reflects the silent compromises many women with MS endure.
Because of this, every major decision Aditi makes now carries a quiet awareness of the future — whether she will have the strength to keep up with her daughter’s growing world, endless playtime, and evolving needs.
“What gave me confidence was seeing my vertigo subside after the first round of treatment. Timely intervention truly helped me continue living a life that feels whole and complete,” she shares.
With strong family support and consistent care, Aditi continues to lead a near-normal, fulfilling, and independent life. She speaks openly about awareness, early treatment, and why no one facing an invisible condition should feel alone. Her story highlights how timely medical intervention can help manage MS while continuing to live fully, even in motherhood.
Beyond the diagnosis, she remains the same woman, living with strength, purpose, and hope.
Watch Aditi’s story here:
Rahul Kumar Gupta: Rebuilding life
Rahul Kumar Gupta was still very young when MS changed the course of his life. There was a time when he suddenly lost the ability to stand or walk independently. Everyday tasks that once felt effortless required support, patience, and rehabilitation.
Coming from a family with limited financial means, Rahul, who works as a computer executive at an NGO, faced extra challenges — from finding treatment and arranging long-term care to navigating systems that often fail to recognise invisible disabilities.
Yet what stands out most is his determination to rebuild. Step by step, with doctors, rehabilitation, emotional strength, and support from organisations like the Multiple Sclerosis Society of India, Rahul regained confidence and independence.
His story also highlights the gaps many people with MS face in India. Getting disability certification, financial help, and long-term support can be overwhelming, especially when others can’t see what you’re going through. Even official disability rules can make life harder — the 40% minimum required for certification doesn’t reflect the real struggles of living with an invisible condition like MS.
And still, Rahul chose persistence over giving up. “My life is not as normal as others, but I am not missing anything in life; by God’s grace, I can do everything,” he adds.
Watch Rahul’s story here:
Why India needs more awareness around invisible neurological conditions
Multiple Sclerosis is a lifelong condition, but it doesn’t take away a person’s drive, dignity, or ability to live a meaningful life. Early diagnosis, timely treatment, rehabilitation, emotional support, and societal awareness can help people with MS continue leading independent, fulfilling, and productive lives.
Stories like Asmita’s, Aditi’s, and Rahul’s remind us that invisible disabilities often go unnoticed, leaving individuals feeling isolated or misunderstood. Their journeys highlight personal courage and the gaps in support systems.
While MS may change the path of life, it doesn’t diminish the human spirit. These stories show that, with resilience, support, and timely intervention, people living with MS can continue to lead fulfilling, independent lives.
To understand these challenges more deeply, you can also explore Walk in My Shoes, a campaign that invites you to step into the world of people living with Multiple Sclerosis and experience the realities of this invisible condition.
