Fighting Parkinson’s, and feeling worse while getting better

My last few posts have been about staying on the recovery path even though our symptoms seem like they may be getting worse…increased tremors, a little more stiffness, a little more pain, a little more slowness. This is a good time for a reminder that recovery from Parkinson’s is a soul, mind, and body healing. I was focused on getting better, and I learned to accept that it meant I would be feeling worse once in a while…worse, physically, that is.

Ask yourself this question: If my symptoms disappeared tomorrow, would I continue doing the Recipe for Recovery? I would imagine the answer is no. Your body would not reflect symptoms, so why continue with the Recipe. With this in mind, are you willing to accept that until you heal your soul and your mind and your body, your symptoms will not disappear? If you want to recover, start working on this acceptance of the reality of Parkinson’s recovery. Once you can accept this, you will be surprised how much your mind will no longer be consumed with “How are my symptoms doing compared to yesterday?”

Acceptance of reality. Acceptance of what is. Acceptance equals “okay, I have symptoms; what am I going to do about them?” Acceptance equals “acknowledgment of what is going on right now.”

Body. If acceptance equals acknowledgment of what is going on right now, then acknowledge that your body needs internal healing and do the Qigong exercises. Ask yourself, “what am I doing right now to heal the body?” Do the work…heal your body.

Mind. If acceptance equals acknowledgment of what is going on right now, then comparing your current situation to a memory of yesterday is simply a past impression of the mind. If acceptance equals acknowledgment of what is going on right now, then worrying what it means in terms of good or bad is simply a future impression of the mind. Healing your mind with meditation and relaxation allows you to say, “these are my symptoms, and they are occurring right-here-right-now, no more, no less.” Let go of the attachment to the mind’s comparisons to yesterday and the mind’s fears about the future…accept what is, and be in the moment…heal your mind.

Soul. If acceptance equals acknowledgment of what is going on right now, then accept that by doing the Recipe for Recovery you are doing everything you can to recover from Parkinson’s because you are worthy and deserving of this recovery. Feel joy and love and happiness and gratitude, and know that in the face of a medical world that says Parkinson’s in incurable, that you love yourself enough to reject the status quo and keep your faith strong that you will recover. And keeping your faith strong is bolstered by your hard work and dedication in doing everything in your power to heal your soul, mind, and body! Feel the strength of connecting your Inner Divine with the your Higher Power…heal your soul.

For those of you who have any question left in your mind that this is accurate, I have three things to say: (1) Parkinson’s rules the fears and doubts in your mind, so it is just the Parkinson’s talking; (2) read the comments from my last blog entry posted by your fellow travelers on this path to recovery, who found themselves feeling worse, but who had professionals explain to them how they actually were getting better, Fighting Parkinson’s, and another thought about the tortoise; and (3) read my post from May 10, 2010, Fighting Parkinson’s, having a positive attitude. What I would like you to realize when you read that post is that I still had Parkinson’s, and I was posting how I felt that day. One month later, on June 12, 2010, I was fully recovered. On May 10, 2010, when I wrote that post, it did not look to anybody, including me, that I would be fully recovered one month later.

Once you accept reality…accept what is: “I have Parkinson’s and I have Parkinson’s symptoms, and my Parkinson’s symptoms will look worse and better and better and worse until they are gone,” then you no longer have to be afraid if today they are worse or tomorrow they are better or yesterday you barely felt them. Stop thinking about your symptoms. Stop thinking about the level of your symptoms — let go of the attachment to these thoughts and you let go of fear.

And continue the Recipe for Recovery because then you are “DOING” something about your Parkinson’s rather than just “thinking” about it.

Aren’t you worth it?

All my best,

Howard

Please Note: On a previous post, “Fighting Parkinson’s, and it’s time to heal the world,” I explained what we are doing moving toward a clinical study of the Recipe for Recovery. I have received an outstanding response from people pledging to send their neurological records, and I already have received neurological records from people in 6 different countries. Yes, we do have the power to heal the world, and I am grateful for all of you.