Many people with PD (PwP), and caregivers will also be well aware of this, often encounter an almost constant chatter of busy thoughts in their own heads. This inner voice can speak in undertones of self-doubt and guilt, but also can be constantly seeking to blame others, marshalling arguments and self-justifications. These thoughts can go round and round like a tape stuck on a loop, and be very difficult to break out of. Indeed, PwP can become irritable when someone seeks to interrupt these thoughts. These anecdotal experiences have now been backed by science too. A recent article in "Nature",
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Self-Doubt, Guilt, Inner Voices and Parkinson's Disease
While most people will be familiar with the external, physically manifest symptoms of PD, very few have a good grasp of these internal, hidden states, and so don't realize that people with Parkinson's (PwP) are also frozen, rigid and trembling on the inside too. Having engaged with very many PwP around the world, I've learned that there are common personality types, and we tend to have shared, overarching themes of internal emotional states. In particular, I've found that many of us can be described as high achievers, but are wracked with self-doubt and guilt on the inside. This finding appears to especially true in the cohort of PwP who eventually end up with a rigidity dominant form of Early Onset Parkinson's Disease.
Read MoreDrug Induced Dyskinesia in Parkinson's Disease
In this first entry, many of you will be getting a first glimpse of me and hearing my voice for the first time! But as far as first impressions go, please be warned: you might be shocked, for this was recorded purposefully when the side of effects of my medication were very acute. In fact, I often take another drug to alleviate these medication induced symptoms, so this is not my typical state. The important point to note however is that, over the course of years, without other interventions, what you see here in the initial part of the video will become a more and more frequent state for me. For those who experience such extremes with the condition on a daily basis, our total sympathy – we release this video for you.
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