Fighting Parkinson’s, and less is more revisited

In the past, I have discussed that to conserve energy, fight fatigue, and make the most of my movement, I adopted a less is more strategy. When I listened to my body and accepted my Parkinson’s physical limitations, I learned that I could function better if I did not push myself physically to the limits of what Parkinson’s allowed…instead, I stepped back and slowed down to a bit less than Parkinson’s would allow…the result — more energy with less effort.

Parkinson’s is like a bully. You have seen them. Parkinson’s is the one who is a head taller than the smaller child and puts his hand against the victim’s head and says, “Go ahead, hit me!” And, no matter how many times we swing, we will never hit Parkinson’s because it is a head taller and its arms are longer, and we swing and we swing and we swing until our arms are weary and we are fatigued and our spirit is crushed. We are filled with fear.

Parkinson’s is like a bully. You have seen them. Parkinson’s is the one who draws the line in the sand and says, “I dare you to cross that line!” And, no matter how many times we think about crossing that line because our ego is bruised and we want to show Parkinson’s we are not afraid, we do not cross the line. We are filled with fear.

So, how do we beat the bully? It is a process, and less is more gives us more control of how we are going to fight Parkinson’s. Instead of pushing the limits of what it will allow us to do, where Parkinson’s is a constant reminder of how it wears us out, less is more gives us more energy, less fatigue, and better movement.

Think about this:
In the first scenario above, what happens if when Parkinson’s is leaning on our head taunting us, we simply take one step backwards? Parkinson’s loses its balance and becomes confused. In the second scenario, what happens if, while Parkinson’s is taunting us to cross the line, we take one step backwards? Parkinson’s becomes confused. I know, I know, when Parkinson’s regains its composure, it will visit us with pain and discomfort. That is why I said it is a process.

Each time we use a less is more strategy, we gain a little energy, we suffer a little less fatigue, and we remove a bit of the Parkinson’s reminders of our physical limitations…and we begin to defeat fear. Over time, the bully begins to realize that we are getting stronger and it is having a harder time controlling us with fear.

Over time, pain is pain and discomfort is discomfort. We accept that, and it strengthens our resolve. We are doing the recipe for recovery, and in our regular daily movement we are using the philosophy that less is more. And, like any bully most likely will do when it senses that we are getting strong enough to defeat it, it will muster up all of its energy and give us one last visit of pain and discomfort to try to make us quit right before we prevail. AND WE DO NOT QUIT! WE DO NOT GIVE IN! WE DO NOT STEP BACKWARDS! WE HAVE NO FEAR! OUR FAITH AND OUR RESOLVE HAVE PREVAILED, AND WE WIN! It is called recovery, 100% pre-Parkinson’s recovery.

A wise person told me that nothing is gained from being afraid. Sally, thank you for your wisdom; you were correct. And, Sally, Happy Birthday, my love!

All my best,

Howard