In a situation familiar to many Parkinson’s patients, my world collapsed—or at least that’s what I thought after being diagnosed 13 years ago.
Parkinson’s disease is a disorder of the central nervous system. Yet, when I was diagnosed, I knew very little about it and my only thought at that moment was that I would inevitably become disabled and end up in a wheelchair.
So, I did a lot of research and one recurring element was that symptoms are exacerbated by stress. Over time, I noticed that my symptoms were more noticeable during stressful periods. Indeed, stress affects the body’s ability to fight any disease.
But how do you reduce the amount of stress in your life when living with a chronic condition like Parkinson’s? I started making some changes in my life and today I am the strongest and healthiest I have ever been.
Here are my 9 simple steps to help you achieve a stress-free life.
- Positive mantra. Create your positive mantra for your mind, something meaningful and unique to you. It should take you to a place of conscious calm and tranquility, where you can go and elevate yourself at any time, especially when feelings of negativity or stress arise.
- Choose to be positive. It may seem obvious, but surround yourself with positive people or those who bring positive messages into your life. Stay away from those who bring negativity and ego. For those you cannot avoid, spend the minimum necessary time with them; it may seem harsh, but it’s important.
- Manage stressful situations. If you find there is a potentially stressful situation, assess whether you can control it or not. If it is under your control, take action to alleviate or remove the stress. If the situation is out of your control, let go of any stress without second thoughts. Meditation and visualizing where you want to go are also powerful in creating a sense of peace and calm.
- Practice an attitude of gratitude. It can be easy to forget all the wonderful things we have to be grateful for, especially when we are not feeling our best physically. Maintaining a positive attitude will soon become completely natural. Being grateful for all the wonderful things you have in your life keeps a positive mindset. Practice what I like to call an attitude of gratitude.
- Know your boundaries. Start recognizing the impact and negative effect that negative emotions like anger and frustration have on your mind, body, and environment, including the people around you. If someone crosses your boundaries, resist, but try to do so gracefully so as not to add negative energy to these already negative emotions.
- Keep an open mind. It may sound like a cliché, but I always look for the positive side. If something negative happens, I look for what I can learn. If I can’t immediately grasp what I’ve learned, I set the matter aside and think that maybe someone else has learned something, or maybe one day the lesson will become clear and I’ll move on. Take the time to truly explore your thoughts and mindset, which ultimately leads to your behavior and actions. The way we think directs our behavior.
- Keep moving. I put this principle into practice through exercise and absolutely love running outdoors; it’s very good for my mind, body, and soul. I know not all patients are able to engage in regular activity or exercise, but we can all try to do something daily.
- Develop your sense of humor. You can find humor in almost everything. To do this, you need to keep an open and playful mind, as long as the fun is not at the expense of others.
- We can choose. We cannot control all of life’s events, but we can control how we react.
