forget about parkinson's

When I was first diagnosed with PD, I thought about it a lot. I didn’t know anything about it, so my thoughts were all over the place about what it was, what it meant to my life moving forward, and about how it would impact my family. Nothing was ever the same.

Then a certain time passed where I was able to let it sink in, where I became more educated about it and was better at taking it one day at a time. In the early days when my symptoms were mild, I could pop a C/L tablet it and I’d feel normal. I could go back to my life and almost forget about my PD.

Now time has passed, it’s been 12 years since my diagnosis and several years before that being symptomatic, and my symptoms have progressed so that medication doesn’t get me back to normal, my goal is to minimize the symptoms so they are tolerable. I also try hard to exercise and keep moving, watch what I eat, read about the latest research, volunteer for our local Parkinson’s Association, and so on, all in the service of keeping on top of my PD.

That’s a lot of time thinking about PD, so I have to also make sure I find time to try and not think about PD. For me that’s reading, listening to a podcast or audio book while gardening, or watching an old movie. I also find doing something that’s hard, that makes me solely focused on the task at hand is very rewarding. What do you enjoy doing that helps you forget about Parkinson’s?