6 Ways to Support Someone with Parkinson’s Disease

Parkinson’s disease is a chronic progressive neurological disorder that leads to the deterioration of essential brain zones responsible for motor, cardiovascular, and neurological functions. This ailment exhausts its victims emotionally and physically.

Parkinson’s patients suffering from the deteriorating consequences of the damaged brain abilities expect to receive unconditional and permanent support in:

• Executing routine tasks;
• Building meal plans;
• Establishing contacts with Parkinsonism-diagnosed people;
• Motivating physical exercises and an active lifestyle.

People with Parkinson’s disorder require help to deal with many challenges they have to overcome. The need for support grows alongside the disease’s progress. Conversations, sharing emotions and thoughts, and excellent listening skills are the basis for comprehensive therapy, which daily caregivers or family members efficiently perform.

In this article, you will find ways to control Parkinson’s symptoms via proper home care. Also, our Lone Star Neurology specialists are glad to clarify specific recommendations on what can help Parkinson’s disease patients and social restrictions in line with each case.

What is Parkinson’s Disease?

Parkinson’s disease is a slowly progressive neurological disorder that deteriorates brain neurons and is accompanied by involuntary shaking of upper or lower limbs. Cognitive dysfunctions, tremors, and impaired balance are a short list of the most popular signs of Parkinson’s disorder.

This chronic disease results from a range of factors, including:

• Age. People 60 years old or older are in the Parkinson’s risk group;
• Gender. Men are diagnosed with this neurological disorder more frequently than women;
• Genes. Inherited neurological pathologies stimulate Parkinson’s development earlier than expected, and permanent help is a must-have measure to suspend undesirable modifications in the brain.
• Environmental effects. Uncomfortable ecological conditions, including pollution and harmful emissions, also reduce the immune barriers of any organism and slowly destroy the nervous system.
• Accidental head injuries. Sudden trauma to the brain hemisphere or concussion without proper treatment lead to secondary problems with cognitive functions.

Clinical research has revealed that Parkinson’s damages the brain gradually and provokes other dangerous psychosomatic disorders that make patients reserved and complicate the therapy. Therefore, people with confirmed Parkinson’s signs and symptoms strive to get help for better resistance to the complicated severities.

How You Can Help a Person with Parkinson’s Disease

Family members, close friends, or colleagues should support persons with Parkinson’s because social contacts and help will suspend the pathological reactions of the neurological disorder.

The to-do list for voluntary carers of Parkinson’s patients comprises recommendations about how to:

1. Be patient and ready for any situation;
2. Communicate and listen;
3. Become a workout partner;
4. Control dietary formulas;
5. Encourage to join social communities;
6. Get your friends involved.

1. Be Patient and Ready for Any Situation

Most people with Parkinson’s diagnosis are frustrated and depressed. They are scared of their future and want to be supported. Before you start to help someone with Parkinson’s disease, you should not panic and learn every possible scenario of the disease’s development.

Knowledge about tremors, cognitive dysfunctions, and methods to prevent disease progression allows you to build a behavioral strategy and find out the answers about how to help a person with Parkinson’s disease.

Attending special psychology courses to train yourself and gain appropriate skills to live with Parkinson’s or dementia-diagnosed people would be helpful. After all, the support and love of close ones are the best drugs prescribed by any treating therapist.

2. Communicate and Listen

Conversations with Parkinson’s positive patients benefit their overall medical picture, including:

• Improving emotional and mental health deteriorated by the adverse neurological consequences;
• Discovering particular wishes or specific errands which people with progressive Parkinson’s symptoms can not perform by themselves;
• Strengthening people-to-people ties as a part of communication support therapy.

Good listening skills are essential to encourage Parkinson’s-diagnosed patients who share their thoughts, emotional stress, or fears. To eliminate panic attacks or anxiety onsets, people with Parkinson’s require somebody’s shoulder to cry on and take a hand as a helpful gesture.

3. Become a Workout Partner

Parkinson’s disease is chronic and progressive, gradually damaging motor functions. Therefore, such people are obliged to follow a particular workout schedule aimed at:

• Increasing their muscle strength;
• Balancing their mental and emotional health via inhaling and exhaling techniques;
• Mitigating tremors which could symmetrically affect both sides of the body.

Parkinson’s progression could slow down if a home care program foresees productive partnership during the treatment fitness sessions. Regular outdoor walks or flexibility exercises are more effective for the patients if their family member or best friend accompanies them.

In addition, partner therapeutic aerobic activities optimize the overall health indicators and become the motivation factor for improving the resistance to Parkinson’s deterioration effects.

4. Control Dietary Formula

Parkinson’s disease refers to problems related to deteriorated brain neurons, which force potential patients to ask for constant help in different spheres. An essential task for Parkinson’s carriers is to adhere to the medical recommendations about a modified dietary formula.

Read more about diet for Parkinson’s patients in our medical blog.

Often, people feel discomfort and refuse to change their long-term eating habits. For instance, burger fans hardly want to rebuild their daily meal plan and enlist legumes, fruits, and berries for vitamin-enriched dishes or snacks.

Therefore, caregivers need to control the nutrition rates and balance food intake to strengthen the nervous system qualities.

5. Encourage to Join Social Community

Communication activities with people with similar symptoms are vital to overcoming many issues. Those diagnosed with Parkinson’s or other neurological disorders often expect to find their mates and discuss problems that could hardly be shared with family members or friends.

Do not miss opportunities to enlist your close person to the social Parkinson’s-related community, which helps reduce psychological and emotional pressure typical for brain deterioration diseases. The community classes are recommended for:

• Establishing effective people-to-people encouragement ties;
• Discovering different effects or scenarios of the disease development;
• Gaining listening skills to reduce emotional or psychological pressure;
• Building cross-cutting partnership connections between caregivers and patients in order to improve the therapy program.

So, if your loved one belongs to a therapy social group, it is a good way to achieve success in the recovery process.

6. Get Your Friends Involved

To train your caregiving competencies, you may become a volunteer in the special Parkinson’s rehabilitation center. This measure is important if your loved one with Parkinsonism is an early-diagnosed neurological disorder.

Moreover, motivate your friends to bear social responsibilities and support those who suffer from irreversible processes. Mutual activities unify people and reduce depression or frustration effects, which make Parkinson’s patients reserved and weak without external help.

Learn More about Dealing with Parkinson’s Patients

Encouragement is essential in a complex therapy program that helps people with neurological disorders to overcome different challenges and health deterioration consequences. Qualified and comprehensive home care provided by family members, friends, or caregivers comprises affordable activities which drastically improve medical treatment. 

Contact the Lone Star Neurology Specialists

Our experienced and highly qualified Lone Star Neurology doctors help diagnose and treat many neurological diseases using modern equipment. To make an appointment with our specialists, call us at (214) 619-1910.

We treat various neurological disorders such as:

• Concussion;
• Dementia;
• Stroke;
• Diabetic neuropathy;
• Dystonias;
• Peripheral neuropathy;
• Epilepsy;
• Alzheimer’s disease;
• Headaches and migraines;
• Parkinson’s disease;
• Multiple sclerosis.

It is not a complete list we can help with; our neurologists daily deal with many complex diseases. Although many serious diseases are incurable, our doctors try to help each patient to stabilize the condition and live as long as possible. 

FAQ

• How to support someone with Parkinson’s disease?

To support someone with Parkinson’s, caregivers should keep calm and learn all aspects of this neurological disorder’s consequences. Remember, any ailment affecting the brain neurons requires proper home care, strengthening medical prescriptions, and encouraging a person to follow the rehabilitation recommendations.

• What should you not say to someone with Parkinson’s disease?

Encouraging Parkinson’s diagnosed patients in words means sharing their emotions and fears. This means not emphasizing their motor disabilities or cognitive dysfunctions. Do not punish them or say command phrases to force your relative person to perform the doctor’s recommendations.

• What can help to get rid of Parkinson’s disease?

The causes of Parkinson’s disease can be different, the disease cannot be cured. Only specific drug therapy can stop the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. This medical appointment includes an orderly lifestyle, physical exercises for balance, and stretching.

• How to help a person with Parkinson’s disease and emotional disbalance?

Conversations and sharing mutual feelings and thoughts are great tools to reduce emotional crises. Also, it would help if you accepted all temper ups and downs caused by depression, physical overwhelming, or emotional exhaustion. In addition, you should perform errands or wishes of the Parkinson’s patients and realize the adverse consequences of the neurological disorders.

• Does Parkinson’s get worse throughout the day?

Yes, Parkinson’s is a chronic progressive disease that slowly deteriorates the brain structure and impairs cognitive and motor functions. This disorder makes daily routines impossible. Therefore, Parkinson’s-positive patients require more external help to maintain the therapy recommendations and receive appropriate psychological support.

• How do I deal with Parkinson’s patient’s psychological and physical crises?

To overcome the psychological and physical crises of Parkinson’s patients, family members, friends, or other caregivers should encourage them in complicated situations and show demonstration cases like social support groups. This approach is an excellent decision for comprehensive rehabilitation therapy and perceived motivation.