Frequently Asked Questions

“I am newly diagnosed, What Advice can you give?”

We need to be doing everything we can to calm our Nervous Systems, Immune Systems, inflammation, stressful emotional states and anxious thoughts, to address unhealthy relationships, to restore a sense of internal and external safety, and to send the message to our biology that “the war is over”. I would currently summarize these as:

  • identify and remove, or remove ourselves from, as many stressors as possible;

  • prioritise sleep, rest and relaxation;

  • minimize use of and exposure to non-natural chemicals and chemical products;

  • remove inflammatory, highly processed and artificial foods from diet;

  • restore healthy patterns of breathing from the diaphragm and through the nose;

  • address, restore and maintain fascia health;

  • hydrate extremely well;

  • address constipation;

  • clear lymph nodes;

  • cultivate a daily meditative practice, whether meditation, hypnotherapy, art therapy, etc., anything which gives our minds a break from verbose, busy and anxious thoughts;

  • re-connect body and brain through daily movement and dance;

  • spend time in nature;

  • appropriately stimulate the Ventral Vagus Complex and Social Engagement functions of the Nervous System;

  • synchronise brain hemispheres, rebalance brain by cultivating the right brain’s embodied, connected, big picture, present way of attending;

  • attend to ruptures in interpersonal relationships, past and present. and identify and avoid toxic people;

  • practice gratitude, forgiveness, kindness and compassion, seek to let go of chronic anger, hate, despite and try not to engage in judging, blaming and shaming others;

  • improve relationship with food and mealtimes through how, where and when we eat, not just what we eat;

  • determine, by trial and error if necessary, our personal responses to food, and find our own personalized optimal health giving foods and food sensitivities;

  • address trauma with appropriate therapies;

  • engage in personal development and cultivate a growth mindset;

  • reject the Medical Institutionalized Narrative, which uses the language of war such as “battling the disease” or “fighting PD”, and instead focus on making peace inside and out;

  • stay curious and playful, maximise joy and pleasure in life;

  • focus on what the suffering has to teach us, and not on the suffering itself;

  • avoid consuming the News Agenda, don’t watch horror films and thrillers, instead cultivate an enjoyment of and appreciation for comedy and romance;

  • don’t totally abdicate the responsibility for our own health to “experts”, but instead learn as much as possible about how own bodies and minds work;

  • seek to gain as much agency to act independently and make free choices as possible.

  • understand that perfectionism and trying control everything comes with great cost;

  • develop our sense of having a right to be, the knowledge that we are enough as we are, and that we have no points to prove;

  • cultivate a sense that life is purposeful;

Although this may seem like a tall order, these all support one another and there are many positive feedback loops and virtuous circles. Think of it as a menu of choices to pick from, and that not all need to be pursued simultaneously, so we start with the lowest hanging fruit for us, and this will help open up and make some of the other options easier to incorporate. None of these suggestions are individually particularly onerous or consuming of large amounts of time per day. It is more about taking a long term view of changing the habits of a lifetime, repatterning ingrained, unhealthy behaviours, and removing ourselves from toxic environments, relationships and situations, thereby decreasing our exposures to as many risk factors for worsening PD symptoms as possible.

“Which books do you recommend?”

I recommend that anyone affected by Parkinson's Disease, or is involved in healthcare of people with PD, read the following books to arm themselves with the most up-to-date practical and pragmatic knowledge:

"Can you provide your actual daily regime (DIET, EXERCISES, THERAPIES, ETC.)?"

What I am trying to do via the website is present a menu of suggested options, from which folks can experiment and choose the strategies which work best for them. We need to be mindful that there is no one size fits all solutions to any of this, every body is different and everyone is at a different stage. My own "regimen" changes all the time as my movement/health/capabilities comes back online, for example, so it is a not a static affair. I wouldn't be able to do what I can do today even a couple of month ago, in some cases, while things I found beneficial at the start and now of little impact. It is also important to undertake therapy in the spirit of curiosity, play and baby steps, not as regimented "drills", to go with the flow of symptoms and energy levels, and not try to "fight" it. So what I do varies markedly from day to day too. Therefore, I feel it would be detrimental to present any fixed regime, this would be the wrong message and set folks up for failure.