I loved the 2017 documentary “The Center Will Not Hold,”about the journalist, essayist, and author Joan Didion. She was a wonderful example of how one can make it to age 87 with Parkinson’s disease and still have a good life. I personally found it hopeful, as I could…
Possibilities With Parkinson’s — Dr. C
Dr. C is the familiar pseudonym for readers who visit “Possibilities with Parkinson’s.” The love of writing has spanned his careers as a research theoretician, brain rehabilitation clinician, and college professor. Dr. C was first diagnosed with early-stage Parkinson’s disease in 2014. His interest in how Parkinson’s disease can manifest itself in other body and mind symptoms has become a focused area for his research and writing. His goal is to share current medical research on how Parkinson’s can be diagnosed in early stages, and to help other early-stage Parkinson’s patients manage their disease process in a holistic healing approach.
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You can’t walk around with a doctor in one pocket and a therapist in the other. In fact, you can’t even walk around with your hands in your pockets if you have Parkinson’s disease because you need them to prevent you from bumping into things and falling. Nobody…
Brain wave research has the potential to improve management of Parkinson’s disease because beta wave bursts have been linked to the condition. Beta waves are generated when the mind is active and engaged, often accompanying vital fundamental behaviors such as attention, sensation, and motion, which are associated with…
First off, let me say I am not a Zen monk, nor have I been formally trained in Zen practices. It’s a lifestyle that started during my undergraduate college days with the reading of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance.” Since then, I’ve been studying and practicing regularly,…
Recently, I discussed the dreaded dangers of despair. This darkness is, in many ways, linked to a loss of self-worth, something that happens with Parkinson’s disease. It happened to me. I had a bad “Beast” day that overlapped with my evening “off period” and felt sick with…
Editor’s note: This column briefly discusses suicide. Please find resources for help at the end. No one prepares you for the enormity of the loss that comes with a chronic illness compounded by getting older. My ability to bounce back has fallen through the floor, leaving me groundless and searching…
Anything that causes the body or mind to be off balance, shifted away from its baseline state of homeostasis, will create problems. This is especially true with Parkinson’s disease. As I move deeper into midstage Parkinson’s, the experience of being off balance is more intense and lasts longer,…
In computer gaming there is a “sweet spot” where one’s skill level matches the pace of the game, allowing it to flow with an enveloping grace. This experience stems from extensive practice — time spent actively seeking that sweet spot, knowing when you’re there and when you’re not. I don’t…
Parkinson’s disease creates midbrain damage that can hijack your life. To decrease the intensity of such brain-stealing experiences, I’ve found that insight meditation, which requires sanctuary, solitude, and proper intention, is very helpful. I visualize working around the midbrain damage as a sacred process. That’s the intention…
In a recent column, I reflected on my use of solitude to help address the problems that accompany Parkinson’s disease. This chronic illness is frustrating because, like the automatic transmission on your car, many of the brain’s automatic functions just don’t work well. With Parkinson’s, the brakes are…
Sanctuary and solitude help create the conditions for practicing insight meditation. This helps me to sense the Parkinson’s brain noise coming from my damaged midbrain, enabling me to better understand, and manage, some of my Parkinson’s symptoms. Parkinson’s is a progressive disease of the midbrain. My…
Life in our hectic world is very noisy. To get the most benefit from the practice of insight meditation, we need our Parkinson’s life to be quiet. We must reduce the external noise so we can hear those subtle ripples in our brain’s undercurrent, the precursors to problems. Preventing…
With Parkinson’s, there’s a chronic malaise, a sense of “dis-ease” that never leaves. In this column, I’m using the hyphenated term “dis-ease” to separate its deeper meaning from the medical use of the word. Dis-ease is an ever-present part of the brain noise I face each day. There are…
I wouldn’t mind having a chronic illness if I didn’t have to feel sick all the time. But there is no good reason everyone around me must endure my complaints. Negative self-talk is what I call “misery moaning.” Moaning and complaining about misery consumes otherwise productive hours in a day.
I visualize my Parkinson’s disease as a form of brain injury — specifically to small portions of the midbrain. I imagine the total volume of damaged area to be about the size of a golf ball. This means I have the rest of my brain to use for…
I have scars on my retinas I can’t see through. Parkinson’s disease doesn’t cause them, but they do significantly limit my vision. Imagine you’re in the car, looking through the front windshield. A bird flies by and leaves a big dropping right in the middle of your view. It’s…
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