Seven years ago, I began doing the Parkinson’s Recipe for Recovery®. Of course, back then it did not have a name…it was just what I was doing. At the same time, I began keeping a hand-written Parkinson’s Daily Journal. It is time to share my journal with all of you. Here is my October 8, 2009 journal entry, seven years ago today.
“10/08/09. Up at 4, sore all over and slow. Got to the kitchen at 4:07, not bad. I am moving very slowly today and need to find some energy…haven’t figured that out yet.
At lunch, I did not have too much trouble getting the spoon directly up from the food to my mouth…fairly smoothly once I got it going after the freezing that took place after I picked up the food. At 3:30pm, did the kidney and liver medical Qigong, looking for some extra energy, and felt okay the rest of the afternoon.
At dinner, made it halfway through the meal before my fork started freezing and hovering above the food. At about 6:00, I felt like I was walking in mud and this lasted until bedtime.”
As you can see, once again, my perfectionist adrenaline-mind mode was “staring” at my symptoms. I remember thinking back then that I had to get them down perfectly so that when I turned the disease around and got better, it would be apparent. Quite frankly, I was thinking about my symptoms way too much in the beginning.
So, if you take anything away from this day, please do your best to not put as much emphasis into staring at your symptoms. This advice is coming to you from somebody who eventually stopped looking at his symptoms so much and started looking at the blessings in his life.
You are some much more than your Parkinson’s symptoms. I was as well…I just had not realized it yet on October 8, 2009.
You are worth it!!!
All my best,
Howard
Please note: I will be posting one post per day through the middle of November. If you subscribe to receive email notifications when I post new blog posts and you would prefer to not receive those daily email notifications, simply send me an email at howard@fightingparkinsonsdrugfree.com, and let me know that you do not wish to receive a daily email with a link to each post. I will remove you from the list through the middle of November and add you back on the list after the middle of November. However, I still would recommend you checking the blog on a regular basis as it will contain very useful information for understanding my journey and helping with your journey.
Hi
I know you are right, Howard. My symptoms are so overwhelming and frightening – that I focus on them.
Because I give them so much attention – they have more opportunity to manifest and take over my life.
Fear of symptoms is a big part of this issue.
I have to choose to think about positive things and focus my attention on those things.
Blessings
Barbara
Energy flows where attention goes!
thank you brother!
you are right Tony
Thanks Howard…Your post is especially helpful as I head into our Canadian Thanksgiving holiday weekend. It’s stressful enough given various family tensions that often flare up at such events, so I don’t need my symptoms to play into that mix as well.
So I’m going to focus on gratitude instead and quietly celebrate how far I’ve come on the road to recovery. Thank you so much for lighting the way.
Definitely my knee-jerk reflex to watch thank you Howard And all blessings
Thankyou Howard,
I remember making quite a little health industry of parky when first diagnosed in 2007, used to describe it as “walking through chest high water” – exhausting,
It’s a constant learning curve and it seems so obvious now what You say Tony, energy flows where attention goes, my mantra for today! Thankyou for sharing.🙏🏃🏻♀️🙏
What we focus on increases and to remember that the mind that made us ill is the same mind that can heal us. We have useful thoughts and uselesss ones. Our mind can’t tell the difference between them so it acts upon what we feed it. So if we become downcast about a symptom we need to notice how that thought is affecting us. We need to trust in ourselves to overcome our useless thoughts. Thank you again Howard for your support
Veronica
Perspective can serve to help one de-emphasize one’s symptoms too. In helping a friend by referring her to alternative treatment for her MS, she remarked that she was waiting with her husband to be briefed on protocol for his impending second kidney transplant. That certainly helped put my symptoms into perspective! Thanks Howard!
Thank you Howard continuing to give us hope and encouragements by posting your diary!