Selma Blair wasn't always outspoken about living with multiple sclerosis. When she was diagnosed with the condition in 2018, she was encouraged by a doctor to keep it hidden.
"You don't want to tell people about this . . . you know people have judgments or you'll have trouble finding a job," Blair recalls being told.
So she tried to conceal her symptoms on set, hoping no one would notice her fatigue or tics. But two months after her diagnosis, she was forced to go public.
"I didn't have any idea how big the response would be and how many people that had chronic illness or MS were afraid to talk about it or share because they didn't feel empowered or sexy or pretty or young anymore," Blair tells Popsugar.
"It really just kind of changed my whole personality of wanting to talk about it and find out more from other people, because frankly, doctors didn't have all the time."
Now, nearly a decade after being diagnosed, Blair has become a fierce health advocate, encouraging others to listen to their bodies and never take "it's fine" for an answer.
