Almost everyone has heard of the placebo effect. Up to 40 % of the impact of medication is based on this, only strangely enough this effect is hardly taken into account/ hardly used. Purely be installing expectations the effect of medication can be influenced. Both positively (placebo) and negatively (nocebo)speaking. Expectations thus influence largely the […]
Category Archives: Coping with Emotions
Tip 7 of 10: Relax! And Avoid Stress
The 9 most FAQ about Parkinson’s & stress 1 WHAT IS TENSION? Tension is the feeling of excitement you get with anything scary, risky, new or important. And you can’t do without it: life would be very boring. Everyone needs variety, surprises and challenges. You can’t avoid tension and you wouldn’t want to. 2 HOW […]
Tip 6 of 10: Keep Up With Developments (and don’t become a ‘professional patient’)
WHAT IS A ‘PROFESSIONAL PATIENT’? (and is it good or bad?) The professional patient doesn’t really exist. It’s just a name Kees came up with for people who are constantly focused on their disease, as if it is the most important thing in their life. They’re on top of all the latest developments, are (extremely) […]
Body and mind separated?
Last week I listened to an interview with Bas Bloem, a neurologist, on the Dutch radio about the development of health care. The main topic was active participation of patients in this process. The discussion was about care innovation. The focus is being put on the patient and the people surrounding hem/her more and more. […]
Tip 5 of 10: Ask The Right Questions (To Your Doctor Too!)
I DIDN’T, AGAIN! Do you recognize this? You visited your doctor and when you walk towards the exit, you realize: “I didn’t ask everything I wanted to know, again!”. How is it that some people ask everything that pops into their mind, without any hesitation, while others find it difficult to even think of the […]
Coping with Parkinson’s? Or Living With parkinson’s?
“What you give attention grows” a statement used by many coaches. And most parents know this too. If a child falls and you focus all attention on the pain, a child will be sadder than in the situation that, after the initial shock, you shift the attention to something else (something nice). In my experience […]
Tip 4 of 10: Think Constructively (And Accept Negative Thoughts Too)
NEGATIVE THOUGHTS : NOT GOOD (OR ARE THEY?) In earlier blog articles a good deal has been said about negative thinking. And about the importance of constructive (or if you must: ‘positive’ thinking. I’ve even described how to handle negative thoughts: catch yourself doing it and change the wording. But even people who (by relentless […]
Reinventing my goal in life
In 1989 I started to work as consultant. Being educated as a chemist I started with advising on chemical waste, waste in general and waste prevention. Gradually I focussed more and more on laws and regulations about this topic and started managing other people busy with observing the compliance of the waste regulations. And together […]
Tip 3 of 10: Get That People Don’t Get Parkinson’s (And Explain!)
Someone without a chronic, progressive disease doesn’t understand what that’s like. And most people won’t recognize specific PD symptoms. A peculiar gait and impaired movements are not understood, much less a tremor or blank facial expression and the mental processes behind those. So many people don’t understand and tend to react with irritation and judgment. […]
Accepting Parkinson’s?
The last blog Koen posted is about acceptance of Parkinson (and not all consequences). A nice article and how did this work for me. Did I accept Parkinson’s? Should I accept Parkinson? Will or will I have to accept Parkinson. I really looked for my relationship with Parkinson’s. Is it something that is beyond me, […]