Yes, it is sort of a takeoff on "friends with benefits," but only in a limited kind of, sort of way. I keep seeing a recurring theme, these days. Along with PD, it seems I am getting a few unexpected benefits. The first is the habit of exercise. In the nearly 2 years since my diagnosis, I have exercised more than in the previous five. I can bend farther, do more pushups (a dubious benefit), reach more, move better, and experience virtually no back or joint pain. I look forward to yoga class, enjoy tracking my exercise, and especially love all that I learn in personal training sessions. All this because the first neurologist said, "the most important thing you can do for your future is to exercise—an hour a day." I haven't managed an hour every day, but I get close to averaging that much. I know for certain without this motivation, I wouldn't be doing all this, but for PD.
Another unexpected benefit showed up recently. Since PD affects certain areas of the basal ganglia, where much of our unconscious motor activity is stored and from which it originates, trips and falls while walking and thinking of something else, dropping of objects you normally don't have to think about carrying, seem to occur more frequently in a way that undermines some of your confidence. In fact, multi-tasking in general seems to rely on continuing some activities unconsciously, while adding to the top of mind the latest task. As a result, when you look at something else while you walk, you may stumble a bit. Or, while you hold a pen and reach for a book, the pen might slip from your hand. But, only part of the basal ganglia is affected, and the part that controls conscious movement is not. Thus, mono-tasking, or mindfulness of what you are doing here in the present moment allows you to function flawlessly (at least about as flawlessly as you did in the past). So, mindfulness training, which I have dabbled in for most of my adult life, is my next big challenge. In my usual way, I have started by finding a book. I read up on this one and plan to go to the bookstore and sample it today. In the past, my mindfulness efforts have been like my former exercise efforts—moving in fits and starts, and then fizzling altogether. I might just turn the corner on this one yet, thanks to my PD.
The very latest, which I picked up on just hours ago, I was listening to an interview with a doctor-writer discussing a recent essay. She observed that physicians, or anyone else for that matter, cannot keep all their emotions inside and stay healthy. What you keep trapped inside will come out in some set of symptoms like depression, stress disorders, etc. Enter the unexplained loss of emotional control I experience more and more. A simple story can bring me to tears, or I will find myself getting angry about the smallest thing. So, the good thing is, I am not holding those emotions in, I guess. This one is still a work in progress (like me), but if I can round the edges off some of the emotions, I will be more direct and will not be holding out on people. Being more open is being more human and having genuine relationships, isn't it? Hmmm…
