Can a POSITIVE ATTITUDE have any effect on Parkinson's Disease?

[JohnPepper]

Being positive and up-beat about our future can be very helpful to our care-givers. They find it much easier to relate to us if we profer a smile and a cheerful response, instead of a grumpy reply to their question, "How are you feeling?"

[konzertmeister]

There is no one that I have ever met that asks that question and is ready for the total truth. That is not a real question. It is a greeting like "Hello". If people truly wanted to know how you feel they would have a couple extra hours to sit with me and I will tell them how I am, but they only want to hear "good" "excellent". On the other hand, yes a positive attitude will keep you from getting dementia. I have read this in several places that your mind controls your body and so your mind controls your physical being. On the other hand, if people ask that question and only want a positive attitude then why ask it at all. If they really do not mean what they say, they should not say it at all. If you are a person who is positive all the time even when you have a splitting migraine and you feel like your head is going to blow apart in a million pieces and the pressure is so great that the pieces will hit the moon - if you say yes in all situations then they are not getting an accurate indication of what is going on in your physical being because you just always say "fine" when asked how you are

[JohnPepper in reply to konzertmeister]

Hi konzertmeister

Oops! Did I touch a raw nerve?

I am ready for any answer! Including yours! I did not suggest that we can be ppositive all the time! That is impossible. I am asking everybody if they think that being positive can help deal with Pd?

You are saying that with Pd, who can be positive?

Let me answer my own question! When I wake up in the morning, I know that I have Pd, as I had it yesterday and 21 years ago. It started in 1963, when I found that I could not throw a ball! What difference can that possibly make to my life? It made no difference at that time, because I don't often need to throw a ball. Had I known then that I had Pd, I probably would not be here to talk to you today, because I would have become very despondent. As a young man of 29. I would have become so negative about my prognosis that survival for another 50 years would have been impossible.

In 1992, when I had gained enough experience in life to be able to deal with Pd, it was a different matter. I had fought so many battles at the age of 58 that I was prepared ro take on Pd, with the knowledge that I had successfullytackled many other seemingly impossible problems.

The difference between feeling positive about dealing with life's problems and feeling negative about them is like comparing chalk with cheese.

If we think 'We Can't' the chances are that we won't be able to do whatever it is we feel we can't.

If we feel 'We can' then the chances are that we will be able to do whatever it is.

It is that simple!

All successful people have had failures. That did not stop them from continuing to try!

We can't beat Pd if we think it is impossible!

I have not needed to take any Pd medication for the past 10 years. I still have to walk for an hour every second day, but what hardship is that?

Some will say I therefore never had Pd in the first place. That is a stupid statement without having examined me beforehand.

Don't try and beat anything, thinking that it isn;t worth the effort because then you can never do it!

Good luck!

John

[Court]

I have always believed that a Positive Mental Attitude, together with exercise helps in our daily fight with Parkinsons. Everyone is different and the amount of exercise they can do will be different. Even if you do chair exercises, I truly believe that you should push your body to do a little more each day. When you manage an improvement, however small, the positive feeling is so good. Whilst we all know there is no cure for Parkinsons, we have to keep fighting.

[JohnPepper in reply to Court]

Hi Court

Your thinking is commendable! We are never too ill to exercise, unless we are totally immobile.

When Douglas Bader lost both his legs in an air crash, he desperately wanted to fly again, but he knew that if he could not walk without the aid of crutches, or even sticks, he would never be allowed to fly a plane again.

He managed to learn to walk, without the aid of anything, the same as any other man was. He later became an ace fighter pilot, during the Battle of Britain! How was that, for a man with no legs? Do you think that he could have done that if he thought for one moment that he would not have been able to achieve it?

If you would really like to know how I achieved the reversal of my Pd then look at my website reverseparkinsons.net or look for my book on that site or look for Reverse Parkinson's Disease on Amazon.

John

[Owenbob in reply to JohnPepper]

Gee, I went to our website, and it certainly iin interesting, but very hard to .believe. I've never heard of anyone having this experience.

[soup in reply to Owenbob]

He didn't grow his legs back again though.

[CheriH in reply to Court]

I love your positive attitude, Sue! Thank you for that little "push" to exercise. I needed it!

Your friend,

Cheri

[TonyinCornwall in reply to Court]

I so agree with Court, I am 62 with PD and I also manage a facebook Parkinsons group facebook.com/groups/4908572... and this is exactly what we stress, that exercise in what ever form and whatever quantity each individual is able to manage, can only be positive. This combined with positivism, is surely the best things we can do for ourselves. Its easy to say be positive with PD but we have 2 choices, let it overwhelm us and those around us or show a positive attitude and do what we can to live with it.

[JohnPepper in reply to TonyinCornwall]

Well said. I don't necessarily agree with 'whatever exercise' but all exercise is good for us, but we can overexercise,which is harmful!

So, let everybody know this, because there are many who believe that taking medication is the only way to deal with Pd. It isn't!

[Norton1]

Hello John,

Good question and to be fair to Konzertmeister I can see where he is coming from with his reply. My wife often jokes to others who enquire how am I getting on, "don't ask him because he will tell you."!

On a more serious note it is only too easy to sit around moping all day thinking how hard living life is with Parkinsons, but I ask myself this question, "how much fun am I to live with being like this?" Clearly, the answer is, 'not much'.

I have come to realise that, for me, Parkinson's has been a wake up call and that I needed to adjust my life. By this I mean, look at my diet, not eat so many sweets, reduce the amount of stress in my life, much of it self induced and of course, take more exercise.

I didn't need a doctor to come to these conclusions.

Hopefully, I'll have at least several more years left and I want to life them gracefully with my wife who is my biggest ally, because she, too, wants a happy life.

I thank everyone who posts on this site giving their experiences, because in every case, positive or negative, they are all my teachers.

Norton

[JohnPepper in reply to Norton1]

Hi Norton

Yes, you are correct, it is difficult to be positive about a condition like Pd, bui on the other hand, what choice do we have? We might as well face up to it, head-on. If we think positively about exercise, for instance, we will be more inclined to do it!

If we tell ourselves that we can't do exercise and there is nothing to live for, then you become a self-fulfilling profecy. There rerally is no choice - we have to take a positive view of our Pd. That will go down very well with our carers. They long for the day, when we say I feel fine today, even if we don't. What is the difference?

Come on guys, start to smile again and take a more cheerful approach to life!

John

[PatV]

I try to do both, smile and say honestly how I feel or have been feeling. I do avoid telling those people (al anonics) who instantly put on a long sad face if you share that you're in pain. Don't need that! My pain is chronic and infuriating, but I probably won't die from it.

[JohnPepper in reply to PatV]

Hi PatV

That is the way to stay on the ball. We don't need sympathy! We are capable enough to feel sorry for ouselves. We don't need others to help us. We need their encouragement to move and stay in the mainstream of society. We definitel don't need to shoved aside to rot on the rubbish heap.

Keep it up Pat

John

[Jash]

It's like Henry Ford said---if you think you can, you're right. If you think you can't, you're also right.

[JohnPepper in reply to Jash]

Hi Jash

There you go! You raised a smile on my face at 6-30 this cold winter's morning. The birds haven't even started coughing yet and here you are chirping! Keep it up!

It was suggested to me that I introduce a bit of laughter on this site, but that is not really the reason for being here. I want to make Pd sufferers aware that there is something we can do to help ourselves, that is greater than us. WE can laugh at ourselves!

John

[purplelady13]

I agree that a positive attitude makes all the difference in the world and tell myself and my family (particularly my mother) that there are worse things than PD. Laughing at myself certainly helps me, but my friends and family don't like it and make it known, sometimes even accusing me of hallucinations (which I have had and are of no laughing matter). When they make remarks, I tell them that if I didn't laugh, that I would cry, then ask "what would you prefer?"

[marmaduke123]

Without doubt a positive mind is the way to go. From the time I was diagnosed at 47 I have just continued on as usual. In the beginning I always initiated the conversation when talking to people and made some kind of comical remark about my condition I felt it helped them relax and respond better and lift that barrier that I knew they may have found awkward..and even now i find that others benefit from this as we end up comparing what we've all got and go away laughing. The more you laugh the more your condition ceases to be at the forefront of your mind until it becomes a lesser part of you. I'm not belittling having Parkinson's in any way but just i came first with all my strengths and personality which has made me the person I am and I'm not letting having parkinson change me. It's a condition that I could do without but it's going to stay a lesser part of me. So yes mind over matter and laugh in the face of adversity you'll be a stronger person for it and just carry on regardless...!!! Give it a try you've nothing to loose..

[JohnPepper]

Hi Marmaduke123

That's the way to go. But don't think that that is all you can do to keep your mood high. Exercise produces endorphins, which make you feel good! HEY! Why don't we all exercise more and feel better, while we tell the rest of the world that, regardless of having Pd, we feel great!

John

[shall1019 in reply to JohnPepper]

Great column!

[marmaduke123]

ha ha touche john pepper!... you must be a doctor...i am exercising just concentrating on the facial muscles....it's less work....my left leg and foot twists round of its own accord anyway, my right arm i exercise while holding a glass of red wine while my left arm feeds me with cheese and crackers. This in turn makes my stress less which improves my condition which in turn makes me feel good....a much easier way to produce those endorphins!! I think the rest of the world realise the disabling effects of pd and they know it can't be easy but it's up to oneself to keep a positive mind in order to continue to enjoy as near normal life, friends etc. as possible for as long as we can. So as you say lets start exercising........

[JohnPepper in reply to marmaduke123]

Hi marmaduke123

No! I am not a doctor, just a patient like you, but with no patience!

My mind boggles at the thought of you being able to hold a glass of red wine in one hand, while the left arm feeds you with cheese and crackers! I can hold a glass of anything in either hand, if I concentrate hard on doing so. Otherwise, I spill the contents of the glass, red wine included, all over everything underneath it. SO! I can concentrate on drinking red wine, or on eating cheese and crackers but not on both.

I can, more or less, concentrate on doing anything, and achieve my goals, but only one thing at a time.

John

[marmaduke123 in reply to JohnPepper]

apologies to you johnpepper and to anyone else in this position. Yes thankfully i can do this thanks to the medication. I perhaps am living in the moment too much and do not think of down the road when my condition gets worse, I knew a gentleman once before i was diagnosed who had extreme parkinson and whom i used to help with the simplest of tasks he just couldnt do. I forgot those times or maybe i just can't go there yet. I don,t know which is the best way but at the moment i can't look to far forward it frightens me hence i try to keep upbeat and positive about now. maybe too much so. I hope no one is offended by what i write i am new to this website but its the first one i have felt comfortable with. You have all been so friendly and accepting of a newcomer, thankyou for responding. In future i will try to be more sensitive to other people's difficulties with this ilness

[JohnPepper in reply to marmaduke123]

Hi marmaduke123

There is no need to apologize for anything. You have done nothing wrong. The more we all learn about Pd the better. We all help each other. Why not ask a question, so that we can all learn what worries you?

John

[monpet in reply to JohnPepper]

You are absolutely right about staying focused, especially when going up and down stairs, walking on an uneven surface. This becomes more difficult at times if you are impatient as I am, or engaged in conversation.. When eating out, I try to avoid foods that require extra fine motor coordination, generally use a regular rather than a wine glass, and no longer get upset if others remind me to cut my food in small portions.

[JohnPepper in reply to monpet]

Life is a bitch, and then you die! So say the pessimists! I think that having Pd has taught me how to focus my mind on what I am doing, all the time. I try to avoid talking, when going up or down stairs and when walking outdoors. I have far fewer accidents then, but I still get distracted and have falls. Make your life into a game. Why not? I laugh at my Oopses and get others to laugh with me. It is not funny having some sicko knock his red wine all over your new dress, but when I explain my problem I find it easier for them to forgive.me.

John