According to this BBC article, a third of all British who have Parkinson’s disease live in fear of revealing themselves to the public, including to family members and close friends. I believe this is bad for their own emotional health, and that it may keep them from accessing all the available help for dealing with PD.
It’s a short article about a huge issue.
Excerpts:
One in three with the condition said they had delayed telling friends and family about their diagnosis with some of the main reasons including the fear of being stigmatised.
And:
Younger people reported being hardest hit by the diagnosis to the extent that many said they felt “like their world had ended” and said “they didn’t know who to turn to”.
Steve Ford, chief executive at Parkinson’s UK, said not getting help for the degenerative neurological condition was having a devastating impact on people’s emotional health.
I’ve had to come out twice in my life: first, as a gay guy, and second, as a Parkie. I find that in both cases, coming out resulted in multiple benefits: It made me stronger. It allowed me to move on and focus on newer things that were more important. I ended up making some great contacts as a result. And it benefited others in a variety of ways.
Here are some of my earlier posts on the subject:
And here, of course, is Glinda the Good Witch advising all of us to come out, come out, wherever you are!
