(If you haven’t yet, start reading at #24)
I took to heart what Dr. Hadlock writes about the importance of having an “Invisible Friend” throughout the book Recovery from Parkinson. After also reading Stuck on Pause, particularly chapter five which is fully dedicated to this topic, I managed an unexpected breakthrough. Considering that the causes for my PD type 1 go back more than 6 decades, I expected a long haul ahead of me (and I expect to keep on working toward a full recovery and to maintain it. Dr. Hadlock repeatedly emphasizes the importance of having dialogues with the invisible friend. While it made perfect sense to me, I had no clue how to get this going. But two days ago, I gave it a name. Yesterday I had my first “conversation”. Today I was chatting along with my friend. It actually makes me laugh!
For those who have not read the earlier posts, I mention again that while most of the PD symptoms had disappeared, the EIS (energy intolerance syndrome) clung on and got worse. Six days ago I was exhausted (as usual), when I walked home 5 blocks uphill from downtown. That is ½ km with an altitude difference of about 60 m. If I would do longer walks, I was often toast for the next day or two. Yesterday, I walked non stop for 6 km managing 150 m altitude difference. Today I walked 8 km with three little chats on the way. After a short nap, I played the piano for three hours. Usually I need a break after 40-60 minutes. It seems that something got unstuck. Of course, I will keep on with it.
These chats also stop those mental “hamster wheels” in my head dead in their tracks far more effectively than the SSRIs did, when I first started taking them (I went off them long ago).
Needless to say, I can only recommend reading Dr. Hadlock’s books, which are all available for free to download from the website www.pdrecovery.org . Dr. Hadlock not only tells what you have to do, she also explains clearly why, with all the available and necessary footnotes and academic sources. Also people without Parkinson’s can glean many ideas for their own health concerns.
P.S. The invisible Friend may be compared to the spirit animal of the indigenous cultures in North America. More on this can be read in Stuck On Pause Chapter six.
Reflections 