Selma Blair Announces Multiple Sclerosis Diagnosis: "I Am Disabled"

Actor Selma Blair revealed her Multiple Sclerosis (MS) diagnosis in a lengthy Instagram post on Saturday. The actor was diagnosed with the debilitating disease in August, according to the caption.

"I am disabled. I fall sometimes. I drop things," she wrote. 'My memory is foggy. And my left side is asking for directions from a broken gps. But we are doing it. And I laugh and I don't know exactly what I will do precisely but I will do my best."

She noted a series of daily events MS stops her from participating in. "I am in the thick of it but I hope to give some hope to others," Blair explained. "And even to myself. You can't get help unless you ask. It can be overwhelming in the beginning. You want to sleep. You always want to sleep. So I don't have answers. You see, I want to sleep. But I am a forthcoming person and I want my life to be full somehow. I want to play with my son again. I want to walk down the street and ride my horse. I have MS and I am ok. But if you see me, dropping crap all over the street, feel free to help me pick it up. It takes a whole day for me alone."

MS is an autoimmune disease in which the body's immune system attacks nerve coverings. The disintegration of the coverings results in communication problems between the brain and the rest of the body, according to Mayo Clinic. Symptoms of the disease include body numbness and weakness, double vision, slurred speech, fatigue and dizziness.

American author Joan Didion was diagnosed with MS and often uses the diagnosis as a platform in her creative work. "The diagnosis is made and, usually sooner rather than later, one is thrown back into life and left alone to confront this new reality. It is a bit like learning to swim by being thrown in the water. I felt as though I had been presented with a task that was undefined and for which there were no guidelines," she wrote in a piece titled After The Diagnosis.

Didion's writing spoke of the personal journey of MS and accepting the symptoms. "Multiple sclerosis, though not usually a fatal disease, does bring one face to face with the unavoidable but unacceptable knowledge of one's mortality and fragility. Becoming reconciled to the unacceptable is a slow and difficult process and requires new levels of self-knowledge."

Other celebrities with the disease include the OVO record label co-founder Noah "40" Shebib, Richard Pryor and Jamie Lynn Sigler.