ACT Plan

Welcome to your ACT Plan. Here you can
document your answers to the exercises from the
main self-help tool.

You can either fill it in electronically or print and fill in as you go through the tool. If you complete this electronically, please click ‘Save PDF’ at the end to save your plan to your computer. You can complete it in one go or in stages – it’s your ACT Plan and it’s tailored to you. Keep the plan to yourself or share it with your loved ones and/or healthcare professional to help them understand how you’re feeling and how this impacts your daily life.

Living with MS can mean your emotions and how you feel changes, and each day can be different. Remember to keep a flexible mindset when developing your ACT Plan, think of it as a guide to help keep you on track and try not to worry about it being set in stone.

Chapter 3: Connecting with what matters to me

Write down what you think your emotional triggers are and assign a role to them – are they helpful or limiting?

1 2 3

What thoughts and feelings
about MS trigger my emotions?

What impact do these thoughts
and feelings have on my life?

This thought and feeling is...
(circle the appropriate answer)

Limiting Helpful

Reflection: What matters to you?

Write down what matters to you:

Write down how you would like a friend to describe you to someone else. What would you like them to say?

Chapter 3, exercise 1: What matters most to me

Keeping in mind your answers in your reflection above, ‘What matters most to you?’, are there any areas in your life where you may have lost touch with what’s important to you? For example, being a fun parent, like Helen or a good friend.

Chapter 3, exercise 2: The filing cabinet

Write down what you’ve learnt about what really matters to you and what puts you in your ‘sweet spot’?

Chapter 3, exercise 3: VIV - Very important values

Write down the values you included in your ‘very important to me’ box.

Focusing on the ‘very important to me’ box, list your top 3 values.

Write down ways you think can help you to connect more with these values in your life.

Chapter 4: Creating my ACT Plan

Choose which area of your life you most want to address.

Career/employment

Community member

Education/training

Family relationships

Friendships

Health and wellbeing

Recreation/leisure

Spirituality

Write down the value or values that are important to you in the area of your life that you selected.

Use the page below to help set out your ACT Plan.

Making plans and living with MS don’t always go hand-in-hand. Every day is different with MS, and even without it, we can encounter all sorts of changes in our lives. Being willing to be flexible will help you accommodate these changes and make your ACT Plan more effective.

Before you create your own ACT Plan, remind yourself of Helen’s plan (see below) and the ways she is trying to live in line with the values that are important to her.

Example: Helen’s ACT Plan

Family relationships

Fun and humour/being a fun parent

My immediate plan:

I will go to the playpark with Archie after school tomorrow evening

My short-term plan:

I will play a board game with Archie every other Sunday afternoon

My medium-term plan:

I will go to the cinema to watch a movie with Archie once a month

My long-term plan:

I will plan our next family holiday with Archie’s input – we will plan the journey and what we can do each day and make a fun ‘holiday chart’ to get ourselves excited

You might not achieve all of your plans all the time, remember the importance of being flexible...

For example, if you have set yourself the plan of going to the park with your child on a given day and on that day you are unable to do so (perhaps you feel too tired).

Have another think about the value you wanted to focus on and how you can incorporate it into your life in a different way. For example, if your value is to be a fun parent, you could you do a painting or drawing competition. Be creative, be open minded and don’t judge yourself.

Exercise: Creating your ACT Plan

My immediate plan:

My short-term plan:

My medium-term plan:

My long-term plan:

Did I achieve any of my plans?

Which of my plans were met?

What helped me to meet my plans?

Which plans weren’t met and what can I do to help meet them next time?

There are many opportunities to incorporate your values into your life. Be open minded and don’t judge yourself if it doesn’t work out. Living a value-based life is not a tick box exercise.

ACT MySelf and the ACT Plan tool were developed by Biogen in collaboration with people with MS, MS specialist nurses, an MS psychologist and the MS Trust. These resources are not intended to replace professional psychological support. It’s important that people living with MS discuss their psychological and emotional wellbeing with their healthcare team.

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