The context
"THEORY I acknowledge that I may have fertilised my mental and physical fields for the PD forest to flourish. By accepting that I was parkinsed, I encouraged PD - like an alien, invasive species - to invade my mind and body. By believing that I was sick, I encouraged my mind to respond to and reinforce Parkinson's symptoms. The projected symptoms became manifest in me and I became a perfect Parkinson's sufferer. (Sigh!)
RATIONALE After a neurologist presented me with a positive diagnosis of PD in 2013, my response may appear naive: TO COMPLY with decades of medical and pharmaceutical research that recommends drugs with unpredictable side-effects (anecdotal and researched) and accept that gradual drug dosage increases will be the norm, OR TRUST MYSELF to seek out alternatives that might or might not be mainstream? I opted for the latter, the most radical alternative being cannabis oil (2015) that did not work for me."
Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD)
In the context of my above theory and rationale, let's consider the possibility of me encouraging "my mind to respond to and reinforce Parkinson's symptoms...and I became a perfect Parkinson's sufferer" (post 37). THOUGHT: Had I planted the seed of suggestion that I actually have PD, resulting in actual physical manifestations, such as the slowed movements, physical pain and dizziness? My response below is drawn from research that I have come across only recently.
RESPONSE: Now consider the possibility of the presence of Somatic Symptom Disorder (SSD) where people have a "significant focus on physical symptoms...and believe they are sick (that is, not faking the illness)." Is it possible that the academic part of my brain conjured up and reinforced the symptoms of PD (slowed movements, physical pain, dizziness) because of my reading widely since diagnosis in 2013 and then thinking too deeply about the presence of PD which resulted in my experiencing it as a reality? Also, because I had decided to remain drug-free and to fight PD using alternative approaches, did my possible vulnerability make me excessively concerned about physical symptoms and encourage the PD to take root? I wonder...
According Polo-Morales et al. (2021) my speculation is realistic as we should accept that other mental illnesses, such as somatization, can have a negative impact on disability in people with PD. Somatization is defined by them as a "subjective experience related to bodily dysfunctions, leading to communicate and experience somatic symptoms in response to their psychological distress." (Polo-Morales, 2021). It is especially evident when people with PD tend to experience and then begin to communicate their so-called 'psychological distress' that start as apparent, imagined issues but actually manifest as being real and physical symptoms. This leads to the person with PD and somatization then to seek medical assistance.
In a Swedish survey of 20,140 patients with PD, Onofrj, et al. (2012) discovered that if they had been previously hospitalised for specific issues such as mood disorders, schizophrenia, depression as well as neuroticism, then the risk of such persons developing PD was significantly increased. Hallucinations are also an issue. (Ok, so I have not been hospitalised for any of these conditions.)
The study by Marco Onofrj, et al. (2012) also "suggests that the relation of mental disorders with parkinsonism is more complex than commonly believed. Psychosis in PD is studied far less often than depression, apathy or impulse control disorder. In many studies, psychosis is used as a synonym for hallucinations, with the latter being considered a core element of dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) and, less consistently, PD with dementia." In addition, the presence of somatization in persons with PD appears to be related to the level of severeness as well as "the number of nonmotor symptoms, in particular with sleep, mood, and gastrointestinal disorders" Polo-Morales, et al. (2021).
The emphasis in the cited research above is specifically on PD, non-motor symptoms and what has been observed during clinical trials. I would imagine that SSD is probably not easy to diagnose. As we have briefly examined some issues related to SSD, I wish to acknowledge its complex nature by illustrating, briefly, three related disorders:
- Illness anxiety disorder - also used to be known as "hypochondriasis", when one is excessively preoccupied with having or contracting an illness resulting in constantly checking one's health - however, with this disorder (compared to SSD), one does not experience any symptoms;
- Conversion disorder - when one's perception (= blindness), movement (= trouble walking) or sensation (= numbness) is affected without any apparent physical cause - there could be accompanying depression; and
- Factitious disorder - when one is not sick but fakes an imagined physical or mental illness by mimicking someone else's symptoms from which they may or may not derive any benefit.
All the above information regarding SSD and the three related disorders also draws attention to the following two issues that point to how elusive a mental disorder diagnosis can be.
- The illustration of mental disorders and their complexity in the 1989 movie "Awakenings" that I reviewed in post 3 ("PD experiment in a movie"), where an unconventional doctor played by Robin Williams, in the face of uncertainty, prescribes the Parkinson's drug L-Dopa for certain patients. Little was known regarding the impact of the drug and its side-effects then and it appears little is known now, more than 30 years later.
- The inability of neurologists in 2016 to correctly diagnose mental diseases and disorders due to their complex nature, is a serious issue. Robin Williams' misdiagnosis as a person with Parkinson's when, in reality, he had Lewy Body dementia (see post 25) is an example of how complex his issue was, even in the USA. Bear in mind that the second diagnosis was only made during the post mortem!
There is a positive side to mind power and that exists in the impact of the placebo effect. But more about that another time.
Concluding thoughts
I first noticed a tremor in 2012 and was subsequently diagnosed with PD a year later. Upon hearing the diagnosis in 2013, I told the Pretoria neurologist that I would weigh my options before going on the PD prescription drug journey. I was wary of this 'journey' because of the variety of side effects that had been reported by patients. While these represented anecdotal and not clinical evidence, they were aligned to my firm belief in personal experience as an example of one's own theories. (My own PhD research was grounded in personal theories of the writing process developed over ten years.)
I am now over 71 years old and being parkinsed for eleven years and Parkinson's drug-free, has taken its toll. I am starting to struggle. To have PD is a struggle, for me, on three levels:
- I struggle with dizziness (maintaining my balance when standing or moving) and I am preoccupied with this most of my waking moments;
- I struggle with tiredness (physical and mental fatigue) that sometimes wears me down; and
- I struggle with low levels of pain (neck, shoulders and knees) mostly on the days when I have not exercised enough.
