A Prescription for Wellness in Early PD: Just What the Doctor Ordered

Abstract

Background Being diagnosed with a neurodegenerative disease is a life-changing event and a critical time to help patients cope and move forward in a proactive way. Historically, the main focus of Parkinson’s disease (PD) treatment has been on the motor features with limited attention given to non-motor and mental health sequelae, which have the most impact on quality of life. Although depression and anxiety have been described at the time of PD diagnosis, demoralization, intolerance of uncertainty, decreased self-efficacy, stigma and loneliness can also present and have negative effects on the trajectory of the disease. Hence, understanding the psychological impact of the diagnosis and how to provide better counselling at this critical time point may be the key to a better long-term trajectory and quality of life. Focus There has been a paradigm shift in the treatment of chronic illness moving beyond the medical model, which focuses on fighting illness with the physician being in charge of the treatment process and the patient being the passive recipient, toward a more holistic (i.e., physical, psychological, social, and spiritual health) biopsychosocial approach that emphasizes behavioral factors with the patient being an active collaborator in their treatment. Hence, we propose that fostering resilience, social support, and psychological flexibility offer promise toward attenuating negative reactions and improving overall well-being. Conclusion Through a proactive wellness approach incorporating lifestyle choices, people with PD (PwP) can not only achieve improved states of health, well-being, and quality of life, but actually thrive.

Stemming the Tide: The Proactive Role of Allied Health Therapy in Parkinson’s Disease

“…Several psychological therapies have been proposed for the management of NPS to address adapting to and accepting changes in physical function, cognition and mood, as well as the fear surrounding these changes [6,[96][97][98]. Therapies can address changes in personal identity or family roles following diagnosis of a chronic disease, fear of anticipated and unanticipated changes in function, as well as perceived stigma related to PD [98][99][100][101]. These fears and changes in perceived identity can immediately follow diagnosis, negatively impacting QoL and potentially leading to less participation, increased isolation, and reduced mental wellbeing [6,27,80].…”