Feeling overwhelmed by Parkinson's and crippling anxiety? You're not alone. In this episode of Live Parkinson's - Live an Exceptional Life, host Chris Kustanbauter opens up about his personal struggles with anxiety alongside Parkinson's.
But there's hope! Discover the power of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as a tool to manage anxiety and reclaim control of your life.
Here's what you'll learn:
Host's Personal Story: Chris Kustanbauter shares his experience with Parkinson's and anxiety, offering relatable insights.
Understanding Anxiety with Parkinson's: Explore the common anxieties and how they can worsen Parkinson's symptoms.
The Power of CBT: Learn how CBT can help you identify and challenge negative thought patterns that fuel anxiety.
Success Stories: Hear inspiring stories from people with Parkinson's who successfully manage anxiety with CBT techniques.
Practical Tips and Techniques: Gain valuable tools and exercises you can start using today to manage your anxiety.
Don't let anxiety steal your joy! Tune in and discover how CBT can empower you to live an exceptional life with Parkinson's.
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only is not intended to treat or diagnose Parkinson's Disease. Please ensure that you are following the treatment plan developed by your doctor. Please ensure before starting anything new you get approval from your doctor. The information being provided is based on my own personal experiences and does not guarantee that it will benefit everyone.
Feeling overwhelmed by Parkinson's and crippling anxiety? You're not alone. In this episode of Live Parkinson's - Live an Exceptional Life, host Chris Kustanbauter opens up about his personal struggles with anxiety alongside Parkinson's.
But there's hope! Discover the power of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) as a tool to manage anxiety and reclaim control of your life.
Here's what you'll learn:
Host's Personal Story: Chris Kustanbauter shares his experience with Parkinson's and anxiety, offering relatable insights.
Understanding Anxiety with Parkinson's: Explore the common anxieties and how they can worsen Parkinson's symptoms.
The Power of CBT: Learn how CBT can help you identify and challenge negative thought patterns that fuel anxiety.
Success Stories: Hear inspiring stories from people with Parkinson's who successfully manage anxiety with CBT techniques.
Practical Tips and Techniques: Gain valuable tools and exercises you can start using today to manage your anxiety.
Don't let anxiety steal your joy! Tune in and discover how CBT can empower you to live an exceptional life with Parkinson's.
Disclaimer: This podcast is for educational purposes only is not intended to treat or diagnose Parkinson's Disease. Please ensure that you are following the treatment plan developed by your doctor. Please ensure before starting anything new you get approval from your doctor. The information being provided is based on my own personal experiences and does not guarantee that it will benefit everyone.
Hello and welcome to Live Parkinson's Live an Exceptional Life. I'm your host, chris Kustenbotter, and I've been living an exceptional life with Parkinson's for the past 14 years. The mission of this podcast is to help people living with Parkinson's lead a great quality of life. Today's topic is Parkinson's anxiety how cognitive behavioral therapy can take back control. Are you feeling trapped by Parkinson's and anxiety? Don't give up. Today's episode we unveil the powerful tool that can help you break free from anxiety and reclaim control of your life. Now I'm going to be upfront and completely honest with you. This is a topic that is near and dear to my heart, because I struggled with anxiety and panic attacks for a number of years Too many to count, in fact until I used Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, or CBT, to help me overcome the anxiety and panic attacks. Behavioral therapy, or CBT, to help me overcome the anxiety and panic attacks. So in this episode, I'm not just presenting research I did on cognitive behavioral therapy and then telling you how wonderful it is and how it can help you. I'm sharing my personal stories, struggles and how I use CBT to recapture my life and put anxiety in the back seat. I wanted to share this with you first because I know the struggles many of you are having with anxiety and I really do sympathize with you. By sharing my experiences, I'm hoping to help you reclaim your life as well, so I hope you'll join me on this episode to help you live the life you want to live. Now I do have a brief disclaimer that I want to share before we get started. I'm not a mental health professional, and if you're struggling with anxiety or depression, please seek help from a certified medical professional who can provide you with the help you need to help manage your anxiety and or depression. They can help you with the tools, including cognitive behavioral therapy, and a mental health professional has the education and skills to help you manage your anxiety. All right, let's begin our journey on the role of therapy, and particularly cognitive behavioral therapies, in helping us manage Parkinson's anxiety.
Speaker 1:
Now just how prevalent is anxiety in Parkinson's and how does it impact our quality of life? Anxiety is common but often overlooked mood-related non-motor symptom in people with Parkinson's. In fact, about 40% of people with Parkinson's experience some type of anxiety, and anxiety is the most prevalent mood-related non-motor symptom in Parkinson's, with a prevalence of about 31%. So about a third of people with Parkinson's. It's their most prevalent mood-related non-motor symptom. Anxiety symptoms have a strong impact on a patient's lifestyle and their overall quality of life, because if you're anxious all the time, a lot of times you're going to drop out of activities or you're not going to participate in things because of either worry or fear or anxiety either worry or fear or anxiety. So let's take a look at some of the typical symptoms associated with anxiety and Parkinson's and see if this can help you have an aha moment and identify the types of anxiety you may be experiencing, because having the knowledge about the specific challenges we face can help us find tools to overcome the challenges.
Speaker 1:
So let's start with the first type generalized anxiety disorder, also called GAD, g-a-d, and this type of anxiety causes persistent and that's the key word persistent feelings of nervousness, excessive worry and fear. People that have generalized anxiety disorder it's not just well, I worry from time to time or I'm nervous every now and again. This is persistent, so they're constantly worried or fearful or nervous, and physical symptoms include butterflies in the stomach, nausea, trouble breathing or swallowing, racing heart sweating and increased tremors. And the impact that generalized anxiety disorder leaves a person feeling out of control. Ah, yes, now the next up is my personal friend who I left for greener pastures, and that's anxiety and panic attacks. Now, as I mentioned in the beginning, I struggled with panic attacks from my senior year in college, when I was about 21 years old, until about 40. So, yes, about two decades worth of fun and adventure with my friend panic attacks. So, yes, I can share hundreds of stories on how this arch nemesis affected my life, and not in a good way, I might add.
Speaker 1:
So what are panic attacks? Well, they're a sudden onset of severe physical and emotional distress. In fact, many people that experience panic attacks often end up in the emergency room because they think they're having a heart attack. This is because the symptoms include feeling unable to breathe, heart palpitations and a sense of impending doom. And so, with impending doom, what makes you want to escape your situation and run away?
Speaker 1:
Now, panic attacks usually last from a few minutes up to an hour, which is usually a pretty long time for a panic attack. Usually, they last usually several minutes, but it's during that time period that people really struggle, and one of the problems with panic attacks is we often feed the fire, if you will. So when someone starts having symptoms of a panic attack, their heart starts to beat a little faster, their palms start to sweat and then all of a sudden, they begin the negative self-talk or self-thoughts, the what if? What if I can't breathe? What if people see me going crazy? What if I'm having a heart attack? And the more we what if? The more adrenaline or the fight or flight hormone is released, telling the brain there's something wrong and it has to be ready to react. So, speaking from experience, I was a great whatever.
Speaker 1:
However, I learned the key is to stay in the present moment, notice what someone is doing. Maybe you're in a restaurant and you think, wow, that waiter has a really nice colored shirt on, or watch the birds flying, or look at the beautiful blue sky that you see. So if you stay in the present moment, the panic begins to go away because you're not feeding the fire. So typically what happens is you can't be in a panic and calm at the same time. So if you can stay in the precious present moment, as they say, then your panic starts to dissipate. We want to get out of the vicious cycle of the what if thing, so that we can stay in the present moment and that we can help put our panic and anxiety attacks in the back seat.
Speaker 1:
Now moving on to the next calm stealer, and that's social avoidance or social anxiety, and this is the feeling of embarrassment due to noticeable PD symptoms. So you're having tremors, you're having dyskinesia, or you're having trouble walking and you don't want to go out in public because you're thinking what's everybody thinking about me? Everybody's staring, and so what's the impact on a person with PD? Well, a lot of times, if they start to get social anxiety and they're going to start to drop out, and especially if it becomes severe, they're going to start to drop out of activities that they enjoy, and so then, all of a sudden, they become socially isolated, and social isolation can have a devastating impact on their quality of life. So it's important that if someone's having social avoidance or social anxiety, that you seek professional help so that they don't get into a situation where they start avoiding social situations and become socially isolated.
Speaker 1:
What are some of the causes and impacts of anxiety in people with Parkinson's? Well, first and foremost, anxiety is not tied to disease progression, but can occur either before or after a Parkinson's diagnosis. So some people might experience panic attacks well before they're diagnosed with Parkinson's, or they may get the panic attacks or generalized anxiety after they've been diagnosed. Living with PD and the brain chemistry changes that go along with it, that can contribute to anxiety. Now, untreated anxiety can worsen motor symptoms and your overall health, because if you have that constant stress and your constant fear, it's going to exacerbate your symptoms. I'll give you a perfect example of tremor If you're stressed or you're fearful, a lot of times your tremor gets worse. I know it does in my case. Now remember, recognizing and addressing anxiety is crucial for managing your PD symptoms. So not addressing your anxiety, it's only going to cause it and lead it to get worse.
Speaker 1:
There's nothing to be ashamed of if you have anxiety. Most people have it, and one of the things that someone told me before when I was having panic attacks is they say I'm comparing my insides to their outsides. So a lot of times you think, oh, that person really looks calm. And then I was introduced to someone else that was having panic attacks home and then I was introduced to someone else that was having panic attacks and here I was thinking all this time that this person was really calm and nothing bothered them, but they were going through the same things that I was. So you can't always compare your insides or how you feel to someone's outside. So there's nothing to be ashamed of. And if you're experiencing a lot of anxiety, please contact your doctor so they can help you get the treatment you need. And it doesn't always mean medication either, because there are some things that we're going to talk about that you can do to help manage your anxiety without medication.
Speaker 1:
All right, now that we understand what anxiety is and the types of anxiety that people with Parkinson's may experience, and then how stress and anxiety can make your motor and non-motor symptoms worse. So non-motor symptoms also include things like sleep. If you're constantly anxious, you're not going to be able to sleep well. So let's focus on some of the main therapies used to help manage and overcome our struggles with anxiety, and then the one I want to focus on is cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT. Now, as I mentioned earlier, this was the therapy or process I used to help me manage and control my anxiety, and, yes, I did work with a mental health professional who was experienced with CBT, and you should consult with a mental health professional to ensure CBT is the right therapy or approach to help you as well.
Speaker 1:
So what exactly is cognitive behavioral therapy? It's a type of psychotherapeutic treatment that helps individuals learn how to identify and change destructive and or disturbing thought patterns that negatively affect and influence their behavior and emotions. Disturbing thought patterns that negatively affect and influence their behavior and emotions. So I told you earlier about the what if-ing. So if you're one of the things is oh, I'm what if-ing. What if I can't breathe? Or what if I'm having a heart attack? Or what if I pass out in front of everybody? That would be an example of a disturbing or destructive thought pattern. Or I don't want to go out in public because I know everybody's going to make fun of me or they're going to look at me. Well, there, we're making assumptions and we don't want to do that.
Speaker 1:
We want to make sure that we can use these therapies to help us control our negative thought patterns so that we don't get into this vicious cycle that we're going to keep fueling the fire for anxiety. And honestly, if you think about it, we're bombarded every single day with negative whether it's negative news, negativity from other people, and it's very easy for us to fall into the trap of thinking negatively. So we're always bombarded with a negative thing. So it's easy to fall into that trap. But we can stop the cycle and use the key components of CBT to help us manage our anxiety. So let's take a look at what some of the key pieces of cognitive behavioral therapy are. The first part is cognitive therapy, which makes sense because it's cognitive behavioral therapy. This centers on identifying and changing inaccurate or distorted thought patterns, emotional responses and behaviors. So by challenging our faulty thoughts, we can replace them with more realistic and objective ones. Okay, that sounds great, but how does that help me? And you're probably thinking what did you just say? And I'm not really sure what that meant. So let me give you a personal example.
Speaker 1:
A number of years ago I moved to a new position in the company that required travel, especially flying, and one of my fears was fear of heights and also flying. So I was at a crossroads Do I take the new position or do I remain in my current job, which was becoming boring and routine? So I took the job, figuring I'll just work through my anxiety and hopefully things will go well. So I took the job, and then it came time to take my first trip with a co-worker. We were flying on a Sunday out to a meeting in the Midwest, so we could be ready for meetings on Monday morning, and I'd only flown once before in my life and that was with my wife and my brother and sisters-in-law to one of my wife's other sister's weddings down in South Carolina. Now, this time I had to go it alone, so I didn't have a safe person, as you will, with me, and I remember vividly spending the hours before meeting my coworker for the flight.
Speaker 1:
What if I panic on the flight and I can't breathe? What if I make a fool of myself because I'm panicking and I can't escape? So I started to make myself actually sick to my stomach and, as you can imagine, my anxiety levels started to go through the roof. And so, sitting there, thinking to myself, I can't do this. I had myself in such a panic that I was tempted to call my coworker and say that I couldn't make it. But I had a family to support, so that was out.
Speaker 1:
So I went to the airport and got on the plane with the anxiety level probably 9 out of 10 or 10 out of 10. So what I tried to do was use some deep breathing to help me control the anxiety so I wouldn't go into this full-blown panic attack, because then my first reaction is I'm choking, or I got to get up and run. So I actually with the deep breathing, and it was a smooth flight. I actually made it through the flight and then I thought to myself after we landed. What I imagined was in my mind was actually worse than the actual trip, which ended up being fine. It was a smooth flight, there was no issues, and I realized I'd gotten myself into such a bad place for nothing. So the perceived doom really never happened and it was at that point that I sought help.
Speaker 1:
That was a case of where I had thoughts that weren't true or were unrealistic, and it also reminded me after that trip what my grandmother, who was blind, told me. You know she always said why do you worry? Because usually the things that we spend time worrying about never come true the way we imagine them, and it's better to face the challenges that are real and work through them rather than build them up into something they're not. I'd still live with that today, now that I think back on what she said, and I pretty much don't worry about things anymore, because usually it's the things I worry about or used to worry about never come to fruition. So deal with things as they come Now, if you're interested more about my grandparents and how they influenced my life, you can read it in my book Spectacular Life, which is on Amazon. I'll put a link in the description if you're interested.
Speaker 1:
Now a second component is behavioral therapy, and that focuses on modifying dysfunctional behaviors. So it involved techniques such as gradual exposure to a feared situation, what they call behavioral activation, and somatic management. That sounds like a tongue twister. It's like relaxation training is essentially All right, so let me give you that was a mouthful. So let me give you a personal example.
Speaker 1:
Elevators really weren't my favorite. I'll be honest with you. I would always try to take the stairs whenever I possibly could. I just didn't like the confined elevators, and one of the reasons is when I was in college, I got stuck in an elevator for 45 minutes with no lights, just total darkness. We started up and all of a sudden there was this clunk and then the lights went out and then my roommate and I were in total darkness for 45 minutes. So after that experience I tended to shy away from elevators. Surprise, surprise, right.
Speaker 1:
And then, once I started CBT and specifically behavioral therapy, I used the behavioral therapy techniques along with a professional by my side during the process. So the first thing we would do we would go and just look inside the elevator might get on and then get right back off, and then the next thing we would do is we would get on and maybe the doors would shut, and then we would push the open doors and the doors would open. So I'm slowly exposing myself to my fear. Then we would get in and we would ride one floor and get off and then you talk about what you were experiencing and how that made you feel. Then we did two floors and so on until you've slowly exposed yourself to the fear and then you use that to help you overcome the fear. So if we fast forward to today so that was many years ago and I still use the techniques today and I have no fear of elevators. In fact, my son and I went to a Pittsburgh Penguins hockey game back in January and we stayed in a hotel and our room was on the 24th floor and the restaurant for breakfast was on the 25th floor. So I certainly wasn't going to walk up 24 flights of stairs two or three times a day. So we rode the elevator multiple times a day and I had no problems and it also helped me address my fear of heights. So by gradually exposing myself to my fear, I was able to realize my fear was unfounded and I was making myself go through anxiety and panic because of my thought patterns. Remember that really, fear is just false evidence appearing real. So behavioral therapy can help you. By you slowly start to expose yourself, you realize that your fears are most of the time unfounded.
Speaker 1:
All right now, the third component of cognitive behavioral therapy and while it's not always labeled part of CBT, is what they call mindfulness-based therapies, and these are techniques that encourage individuals to be present in the moment, just like we talked about earlier, and observe their thoughts without judging them, and then you develop self-awareness. So I use this one a lot, and I've used this with my daughter as well, when she used to get anxious. And essentially, when you start to feel anxious, it's important to break the negative thinking cycle of uh-oh, I'm feeling anxious, and then the negative feeling starts with why are my palms sweaty, why is my heart beating faster? So it's important to break that cycle right up front so that we don't feed the negative thoughts which again are going to cause us to release adrenaline and other chemicals and it's going to get us ready for fight or flight. So we don't want that.
Speaker 1:
So we need to immediately change our thought pattern and stay in the present moment. So one of the ways to do that is you can observe things going on around you, notice the beautiful blue sky, or, wow, look at those pretty flowers. Or those people are really running fast. I like to do a lot of people watching and that helps you stay in the present moment. So when you're doing that, you forget the negative thoughts because you're so focused on the present moment that you find your anxiety starts to go away. And as you get better at this, you realize that when you stay in the present moment, your anxiety and fears slowly start to lose their power over you.
Speaker 1:
And the difference between a person with anxiety and a thrill seeker is that people with anxiety, when we start to get anxious or our palms get sweaty and our heart rate increases, we get nervous and anxious and we say, oh my gosh, there must be something wrong. Well, a thrill seeker, when their palms are sweaty and their heart's beating faster, they look at that as excitement. So, even though we're experiencing the exact same symptoms, one looks at it as excitement. The other one looks at it as anxiety. So by staying in the present moment, it's going to help you to slowly get over your anxiety. All right, so what CBT is designed to do is to address the underlying thought patterns that contribute to our psychological distress, and it helps improve our emotional well-being and that we learn that we can manage our anxiety, helps improve our emotional well-being and that we learn that we can manage our anxiety. So let's talk a little bit about how CBT can be highly beneficial for people with Parkinson's and who are experiencing anxiety Because, like I said, I was right there with you and I sympathize with you because I know how it feels. All right, one of the ways that CBD can help is it can reduce your symptoms.
Speaker 1:
Cbt helps eliminate symptoms of depression and anxiety, which are common in Parkinson's. According to an article how Cognitive Behavioral Therapy Can Help you Live Well with Parkinson's by Dr Roseanne Dobkin at the Davis Phinney Foundation and, by the way, I highly recommend visiting the Davis Phinney Foundation if you're not familiar with them they have a wealth of information on living well with Parkinson's and I personally attended their live seminars and they were outstanding. So I'm going to cite the article in the description. But the Davis Phinney Foundation is a great source of information on motor symptoms, non-motor symptoms, but just overall living well with Parkinson's. So if you're not familiar with that, I'll put the link in the description as well.
Speaker 1:
Another benefit of CBT is improving sleep, now something many of us struggle with because sleep disturbances often accompany Parkinson's, and I've done a couple of on sleep issues and I don't sleep well myself because of a number of sleep issues. But CBT techniques can help enhance sleep quality by addressing anxiety-related sleep issues. So if you're not sleeping because of anxiety, cbt can help you get better sleep by helping you address your anxiety. And that's according to parkinsonsorguk and they have an article that I'll link in the description. It's getting to know a cognitive behavioral therapist and they talk all about in there some of the benefits of what a cognitive behavioral therapist can do for you. The next thing is building self-confidence. Cbt empowers you to challenge your self-doubt and build confidence, which in turn positively affects your daily life. So if you're more self-confident and more self-aware and you think positively, you're going to have a better quality of life than if you're always doubting yourself or you're negatively talking to yourself and you're creating more anxiety.
Speaker 1:
The next one is dealing with memory problems and anytime a cognitive challenge or memory issues, they can cause anxiety. I know I run into this myself. I'll walk out into a room and say what was I? I came here for something, what was it? Or I mentioned this one before. I go to the grocery store and I only have two or three things to get and I get up there and I can remember two out of the three, but the main one I can't remember and that can cause some anxiety. So CBT is going to help people adapt to memory changes and manage the stress that goes with memory changes in Parkinson's and also it can help people that are adjusting to a Parkinson's diagnosis.
Speaker 1:
Now, when you receive a Parkinson's diagnosis, it can be overwhelming and CBT helps the person cope with the diagnosis on your self-perception and your overall quality of life by giving you specific strategies to deal with the underlying emotional issues like denial oh it can't be Parkinson's or anger why do I have Parkinson's those type of emotional issues. So it's important to remember that practicing CBT skills consistently and that's the key word, consistently is essential for lasting benefits. So you can't just do them once every couple weeks or once every few months. Whenever you start to feel anxious. The more you practice them, the more consistent you are with it, the more it's going to help you get over and manage your anxiety. So that's the key word consistently and it's essential for your lasting benefits. Now we take our Parkinson's meds every day to manage our symptoms, so practicing CBD on a regular basis is like your medication it can help you manage your anxiety. I've probably been using these CBT techniques for 15 or 20 years now and I still practice them today. So anytime I start to feel anxious, boom. I'm right into staying in the present moment and also using some of the other techniques gradual exposure, those type of things.
Speaker 1:
So let's look at some specific examples of CBT strategies that can be used for people with Parkinson's and anxiety, and I want to illustrate each strategy with a patient story to give you a better understanding of how CBT can be effective. One of the first techniques is called cognitive reframing. Now, what this does is it challenges you to challenge your negative thought patterns and replace them with more balanced or positive ones. So a lot of times, they'll ask you to keep a journal or a diary so you might, if you have a negative thought, write your negative thought down and then immediately change it into a positive statement or thought. And by doing that, pretty soon you start to recognize how much of the time you're having these negative thoughts. But then, when you replace them with a positive thought, you're reinforcing in your brain the positive piece. So that's important as well. Now I'll give you an example.
Speaker 1:
Sarah was diagnosed with Parkinson's at 61, and now she's 65 years old. She was often overwhelmed by her tremors and her stiffness, and Sarah started to believe she was a burden on her family. Sounds familiar, doesn't it? I think we all feel that way at times. So Sarah is no different than the rest of us. And Sarah was slowly dropping out of activities she enjoyed because she felt like a burden for asking for a ride or asking for help with tasks, and so her family saw that she was starting to drop out of activities. So Sarah began working with a mental health therapist to identify some of her negative thought patterns, which included negative thoughts like I'm useless because of my Parkinson's, I'm nothing but a burden on my family. And the therapist helped her reframe her thoughts and recommend keeping a journal or diary to reform her negative thoughts. And Sarah enthusiastically agreed and started reframing her negative thoughts like I'm useless because of Parkinson's, and she changed that to. I have limitations due to Parkinson's, but I still contribute to my family in meaningful ways. So see how she took the negative and turned it into a positive. And Sarah did this over the course of several months, journaling her negative thoughts and reframing them into positive thoughts, and Sarah felt less anxious and more empowered. She started to engage in the activities she enjoyed again, like reading to her grandchildren, despite her physical challenges, and Sarah today leads a much less anxious life because she's learned to reframe her negative thoughts and turn them into positive thoughts. So that's an example of cognitive reframing.
Speaker 1:
The next one I'd like to talk about is some of the relaxation exercises and their techniques to help manage anxiety by calming the mind and the body. So relaxation exercises such as meditation, mindfulness, deep breathing exercises, which we'll talk about in a minute. So to give you an example, david's a 70-year-old man with Parkinson's and he began to experience anxiety during his daily walks due to fear of falling, which is certainly understandable. A lot of us have a fear of falling because it can have some devastating consequences. And so David began working with a therapist who taught him progressive muscle relaxation, and what he essentially did was have David tense his muscles and then release the muscle groups to help reduce the tension. So if he felt tension in his legs, he'd have him tense his calf muscle and then relax, tense his quad muscles and relax. So it depended on where he was and then he would focus on that particular muscle group, or if it was his arms or his back, he might have had multiple places that he did the muscle relaxation and tension. And this was designed to help him reduce the tension in his body that was causing him his anxiety due to fear of falling. And the therapist had David practice progressive muscle relaxation every day before his walks and to focus on his breathing and relaxing his muscles when he walked. So he did the first technique and then he added on breathing exercises, so slow, deep, slow, deep breathing prior to his walks and then also when he was walking to just relax his muscles. And over the course of several weeks David's anxiety decreased and he began to feel more confident in his walks. In fact he felt so confident that he joined a local walking group. He started to write about it and that helped people understand his challenges with Parkinson's. Now, today, david doesn't have the constant anxiety when walking and enjoys his time walking with his new friends and his new walking group, due to his unpredictable motor symptoms, he said it often left him feeling anxious due to his unpredictable symptoms and it caused him to feel isolated and overwhelmed because he didn't really know when he was going to have problems when he was trying to do his daily tasks. So Alex worked with his therapist and the therapist sat him down and they set some daily goals, which included simple tasks like taking a short walk, calling a friend and practicing deep breathing exercises. His therapist also encouraged him to discuss his feelings with his doctor to determine if a medication change could help with his unpredictable motor symptoms and then, after visiting his doctor, who did end up changing his dosing schedule and Alex continued to practice his daily goal-setting exercises and his deep breathing and so on, and pretty soon Alex, his anxiety started to go away and decrease, and achieving daily goals gave Alex a sense of purpose and structure. Alex even joined a support group and connected with others that were having similar problems and he was able to share his experiences helping others and that made him feel like a valuable member of society again.
Speaker 1:
And our final story is about Susan, who's a 70-year-old woman with Parkinson's and Susan was constantly worried about her tremors worsening during social gatherings. Now this sounds familiar to most of us, and so Susan met with a therapist who taught her CBD technique of thought. Challenging the therapist had Susan identify her negative thoughts whenever she felt anxious. For example, everyone will notice my tremors and judge me. That's the negative thought. And the therapist guided her through questioning these thoughts. Is it realistic to assume that everyone is focused on your tremors? And so Susan used that and practiced this thought questioning technique and gradually started beginning to attend small social events. And then she applied these techniques that she learned. If she came up with a negative thought, she started to challenge the thought and then reframe it into a positive thought. And then what Susan soon realized was that people were more understanding than she had feared. People were willing to help her out versus making fun of her or looking at her as oh, there's something wrong with her, versus making fun of her or looking at her as oh, there's something wrong with her. And pretty soon her anxiety started to lessen and she regained her confidence in social situations and is now participating in more social activities than before her anxiety.
Speaker 1:
So these four stories help to illustrate how people can use cognitive behavioral therapy techniques to help manage and overcome their anxiety. So we talked about relaxation techniques, we talked about thought reframing, we talked about goal setting. So these are all some specific examples of how you can use those in your daily life to help you manage your anxiety. You can use those in your daily life to help you manage your anxiety. Now, cbt can be a powerful tool for anxiety as long as it is practiced consistently, just as I mentioned before, and you want to make sure that you always change negatives to positives, and that's going to help you manage your anxiety as well, and when you can change the negative to positive, it's going to have a big impact on your quality of life as well.
Speaker 1:
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Speaker 1:
Now moving on to help you find a CBD therapist in your area that is familiar with working with Parkinson's patients that have anxiety. First way to do that is through online directories and referral services, and the Association of Behavioral and Cognitive Therapists offers an online directory where you can find licensed professionals trained in CBT techniques. Another source is Psychology. Today they have an extensive directory listing CBD therapists, psychologists and counselors near you, and again put the links in the description so that all you have to do is click on them if you need to find a therapist in your area. The next source of finding a cognitive behavior therapist is through the National Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists, or the NACBT, and they provide certification for CBT professionals and you can explore their referral database for certified professional or certified therapists in your area and again, I'll put a link in the podcast description to make it easier for you. And then local mental health centers and clinics you can contact one of your local mental health centers, community clinics or hospitals, because they often have a CBT-trained therapist on staff and then ask for recommendations from either your primary care physician or your neurologist and family and friends. Another good source is your Parkinson's support group. They often will have good recommendations for people that cognitive behavioral therapy.
Speaker 1:
Now, when you're deciding on a therapist, make sure that it's a good fit for your needs and they have a good rapport with you and a convenient schedule. So you want to make sure that you feel comfortable with them and you're willing to share things, because that's the only way they're going to help you get better. So if you don't have a real good rapport, you might want to share things because that's the only way they're going to help you get better. So if you don't have a real good rapport, you might want to look for someone else. And then, as we close out, don't let anxiety steal your joy. We've explored how cognitive behavioral therapy can be a game changer. In fact, I shared a number of personal stories on how CBT changed my life, as well as the lives of others, in this episode.
Speaker 1:
Now, remember, you're not alone on the journey with Parkinson's and anxiety, and here's how you can take action. Reach out to a therapist, so if you feel like your anxiety is getting out of control, visit the Parkinson's Foundation site and I'll include that in the description as well or the American Association of Cognitive Behavioral Therapists to find a cognitive behavioral therapist specializing in Parkinson's in your local area. Another thing to do is join a support group by connecting with others facing similar challenges. That can be incredibly empowering similar challenges that can be incredibly empowering. So explore online or in-person support groups offered by the Parkinson's Foundation or other local organizations that deal with Parkinson's and anxiety, and then share this knowledge. Once you've got the knowledge, share it with your friends and family and talk about how CBT can help manage their anxiety as well. Now remember, with the right tools and support, you can manage your anxiety and live a fulfilling life with Parkinson's.
Speaker 1:
Don't let anxiety take control of your life and limit your life, because I'm a living example that you can get over anxiety and panic attacks if you apply the right tools. So don't give up, don't give in, and, like the old saying, it's not how many times you get knocked down, but how many times you stand up. So if you got knocked down, stand up and you can do it, and we're all here to support you. Now, as I close this episode out, I would ask that you visit my YouTube channel as well. Live Parkinson's Live an Exceptional Life from Tremors to Triumph, and I try to put new videos up there, or shorts as well, so that you can go on and hopefully learn some new things about exercise, nutrition, optimism and positivity and social interaction and community and positivity and social interaction and community. And then please visit my website, liveparkinsonscom, and on there you can sign up for a free Parkinson's symptom tracker which you can use to help manage your next visit with your neurologist or movement disorder specialist. The more prepared you can have, the better they can help you with dosing, schedule and medication regimen, and that's a free tracker that you can go on and use and also sign up for the free newsletter as well, and there's also believe it or not, a free Parkinson's resource guide on there as well. So please visit the website for articles and to sign up for those free tools to help you live a better quality of life, and I thank you for listening and being a part of this community.
Speaker 1:
If you want to know more about my personal story, my book Spectacular Life for Essential Strategies for Living with Parkinson's is on Amazon and I'll leave a link in the description in the podcast. But I want to thank you all for being listeners to this podcast and I greatly appreciate it. It makes my heart feel good to see the number of people that were helping to improve their quality of life. I would love to hear from you and if you could go to fanlistcom slash live Parkinson's life and leave, leave me a comment, leave me a success story or things that you'd like to hear, and or go to the chat room and start a chat and see if we can get the ball rolling to help other people as well. But I would love to hear from you and I'd be interested if any of you would be interested in a live session where we can do question and answers with some experts. So again, thank you for listening and I hope to see you on future podcasts and you have a spectacular day. You.