Emotional Well-Being Providers

n addition to your physical healthcare team and complementary therapy providers, professionals who focus on emotional health and well-being can be very helpful. Counselors, social workers and psychologists are trained to assess emotional difficulties and to work with you and your doctor to promote good mental health. They can help you cope and stay positive.

These professionals can also help you manage stress that can make Parkinson’s symptoms worse, causing additional strain on you and your family. They serve as guides, helping you to respond with resilience to changes you hadn’t anticipated. Professional support and guidance can help you and your family cope with the tough times when they come.

Since Parkinson’s affects everyone differently, the specific ways you choose to live well will be unique and will change over time. However, a positive attitude, staying engaged in your own health, consistently exercising and making a commitment to take action are steps everyone living with Parkinson’s can take to live well right now.

Research and personal experience of people living with Parkinson’s continue to show the incredible impacts simple lifestyle changes like stress reduction, getting enough sleep, a healthy diet rich in nutrients and exercise can have on not just your quality of life, but the actual experience of Parkinson’s symptoms like tremor, depression and fatigue. Research also suggests exercise may even help protect the areas of the brain affected by Parkinson’s from getting worse (a phenomenon known as neuroprotection), which may slow the progression of Parkinson’s.