Recently a member of the private YOPD Facebook group I am a member of asked how to deal with low mood. They wanted to know others’ ways of managing what is a common symptom. It can put intense pressure on the Parkinson’s patient and their carer(s) and is a crucial aspect of any PD treatment programme.

Anyway, I thought about it and rather than getting into details I started to think about why what works for me works for me. And this is what I came up with : a principles based approach. What’s your view?

1. Stay true to who you are…by which I mean that if you have always been a driven busy person, to try to morph into a laid back, calm lotus eater just won’t work for you. You will be miserably frustrated and that will make your PD symptoms worse. PD does not change who you are after all.
2. Base your strategies on your core likes, dislikes and values….a habit will only stick if it’s something that fits me and my lifestyle. So, I struggled with daily online exercise classes but have taken to walking hockey like a duck to water and now I’m outside almost every day doing either hockey of training for it in some way, delivering the daily exercise prescription we all have. I’m not putting myself under pressure this way.
3. Proportionality is not denial….by which I mean that you could agree with yourself to try to put the trials and tribulations of having PD into proportion but not to the extent that you deny their existence. Many people would rather deny any problems rather than ‘bother’ their carer. Many people think this ostrich method of dealing with PD is valid. From bitter experience burying it all or putting on a brave face will bite you in the end.

Which takes me to the last one and I think the most important part…

4. Be kind to yourself…PD is not a punishment, We didn’t do anything wrong. So when life gets tough, as indeed it always does, instead of berating yourself, give yourself a break. Not “oh you dropped that cup again, you stupid thing”. Try “I dropped it again. Hey, it didn’t break! “…may sound a bit saccharine but it helps, it really does.

And my last comment is that OF COURSE we will have low mood at times, sometimes most of the time. This condition is a bastard and we face it every day. You’d have to be a lunatic not to get down about it. Seriously.

Xxx