Latest / Living with Parkinson’s | Bryce Perry / Parkinson’s Life Hacks: Real Survival Moves That Actually Work

Transcript

Parkinson’s Life Hacks: Real Survival Moves That Actually Work · Living with Parkinson’s | Bryce Perry

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  Do you ever notice that most Parkinson's life hacks sound
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  like they were written by somebody who's never actually
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  had Parkinson's? You know, they'll say things
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  like just get plenty of rest. Oh perfect.
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  Why didn't I think of that, right?
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  Or stay stress free. Sure, let me just unplug the
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  part of my brain that makes the dopamine and I'll get right on
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  that. So today I'm not giving you the
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  fluffy stuff. I'm going to share real survival
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  moves, things that I've learned, tried, or stolen from brilliant
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  people in our community that actually help when life gets
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  hard. These are the hacks that you
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  won't find on Google and make sure you stick around to the
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  very end because Carmen has a brand new care partner segment.
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  Plus I've got one of my favorite racisms that might just change
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  the way you think about survival.
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  Welcome to Living with Parkinson's, The Good, the Bad,
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  and the Reality. Real talk, real life, real
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  community with Bryce Perry. Let's begin.
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  Hey everyone, welcome back to Living with Parkinson's, the
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  good, the bad, and the reality. Now, if you're new here, I'm
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  Bryce and I was diagnosed with Parkinson's over 15 years ago.
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  And let's just say that the reality part of the title, it's
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  home Now. This channel is about living
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  real life with Parkinson's, not the brochure version.
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  We talk about what's hard, what's hilarious, and what
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  actually helps. So if you're into that kind of
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  real talk, hit that subscribe button.
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  It's totally free. It helps our community grow, and
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  it tells YouTube that Parkinson's voices matter.
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  All right, let's get into some survival moves, some tactics and
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  survival hacks. OK, so here's the first one, the
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  pre apology strategy. You know, sometimes you know
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  it's coming, right? A tremor, stiffness, a freeze,
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  or that lag before your meds kick in.
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  So I'll be Parkinson's to the punch by announcing it.
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  If I'm out somewhere, I'll say, all right, folks, meds haven't
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  kicked in yet. So if you so if it looks like
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  I'm buffering, just give me a second.
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  It gets a laugh, it drops attention, and most importantly,
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  it puts me in control. Now, there's some science behind
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  this. You know what?
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  When you use humor, you literally reset the emotional
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  tone in the room. You lower you lower cortisol,
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  the stress hormone in yourself and others.
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  Interesting, right? It's like I always think about
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  laughing and making jokes and releasing dopamine, right?
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  But it actually lowers cortisol as well.
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  And that's the stress hormone in your hormone in yourself and in
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  others. So why don't you try that this
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  week? One small pre apology moment and
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  then comment below how people reacted.
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  I'll bet it surprises you. Really.
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  All right, that one's about controlling the vibe, but the
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  next one's about controlling your brain fog.
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  So when your brain is fried from fatigue or dopamine dips, even
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  simple decisions feel like calculus.
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  So here's what I do. I call it the outsource the
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  overthinking. Outsource the overthinking.
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  I keep a note on my phone that says when in doubt, do the easy
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  thing. And under it, I've got options.
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  If I don't know what to eat, make toast.
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  If I don't know what to do, take a walk.
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  If I can't focus, reset the playlist that's in my notes.
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  Now. It sounds silly, but it saves
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  energy. Because with Parkinson's,
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  decision fatigue is real. Every choice burns dopamine.
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  And guess what? There's science behind that.
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  I mean, I went to school for this one, right?
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  I, I mean, I did some nice research.
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  Anyway, the prefrontal cortex, right?
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  That's the part of your brain that makes decisions, depends on
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  dopamine to function smoothly. So the fewer choices you make,
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  the more energy you save for things that matter.
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  Wow, crazy. Hey, comment below.
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  Did you know that? Did you know that that's what it
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  does? And could you imagine?
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  The less decisions you make, right, the more energy you save.
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  Interesting. So comment below one decision
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  that you could pre decide for the fewer future self.
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  Let's Crowdsource some smart laziness.
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  All right? OK, now let's talk about
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  something that I call the dopamine doppelganger
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  doppelganger. The dopamine doppelganger, OK?
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  We're all great at giving advice to other people, aren't we?
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  We're terrible at giving it to ourselves.
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  So when I'm stuck, I'll ask what would I tell my best friend if
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  they were in my shoes? And then I follow that advice
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  now. It short circuits self doubt and
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  it builds self compassion in real time.
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  So it's amazing how we'll give great advice to friends but not
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  give ourselves that advice. So again, when I when I'm not
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  sure, make sure that you give yourself the same advice you'd
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  give your best friend. And that's a big one.
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  So this week, when your brain starts spiraling, pause and ask
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  yourself, what would I tell somebody else right now?
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  And then actually do it. Tell yourself and then do it.
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  OK, it's time to bring in some rhythm.
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  And I mean literally bring in some rhythm.
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  The Parkinson's playlist rule, that's my next one.
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  I've got 3 playlists, one for when I'm slow, one for when I
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  need to boost, and one when I'm mentally fried.
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  It's like a remote control for my brain.
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  And there is some science behind this too, that most music
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  activates multiple areas of the brain, including the motor
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  cortex. And that's why rhythm helps with
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  walking, movement and even speech.
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  You know, sometimes I shuffle, sometimes my place little
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  playlist does too. All right in the comments, drop
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  one song that always lifts your mood.
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  Let's build community. Let's build a community
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  playlist. The first Parkinson's dopamine
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  mix. How about that?
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  The Parkins dopamine mix. So what's that?
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  What's that one one song that gets you going, gets you pumped
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  up. What's your jam?
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  OK, now let's talk about something that you might not
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  expect. I call this one a strategic
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  surrender. That's when Parkinson wins
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  around. And I stop fighting it.
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  If my fingers won't cooperate, I change the task.
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  If my speech is off, I type instead.
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  It's not giving up. It's pivoting.
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  And why does this work? It works because it keeps
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  frustration from hijacking your nervous system.
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  Once stress spikes, symptoms actually get worse, so switching
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  gears protects your calm and your coordination.
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  You know what sometimes the best move is?
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  Calling a timeout before Parkinson's throws the flag.
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  How do you like that? Comment below. 1 situation where
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  you could strategically surrender.
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  It's not defeat, it's a dopamine preservation.
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  OK, now before we jump into Carmen's care partner corner, I
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  want to share something brand new, a moment for everyone
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  watching who's navigating Parkinson's solo.
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  I'm calling this like your solo, your solo power move.
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  So if you're living with Parkinson's on your own, you're
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  not forgotten here. You're part of the family, and I
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  never want you to feel you're not.
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  So here's something I've learned from so many people that are
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  navigating Parkinson's solo by themselves.
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  Your best survival move is building a connection circuit.
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  Now that means scheduling short check insurance, not for
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  emergencies, just for belonging. Could be with a neighbor, could
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  be with a friend, could be with your partner.
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  Doesn't matter. Or even joining the inner circle
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  because connection isn't just emotional, it's neurological.
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  You know, social interaction boosts, boosts oxygen and
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  dopamine both. And those both help regulate
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  mood and movement. So you might live alone, but
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  you're never doing Parkinson's alone.
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  And you know what, it's exciting.
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  Like we are just going to start a brand new in our inner circle.
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  There's a group in the inner circle, We'll call it, I'm
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  calling the circle solo circle solo chat group.
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  And it's a space made just for you.
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  So if you're navigating Parkinson's solo and you want to
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  not do it alone, check out the inner circle.
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  The link's in the description below.
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  And check out when you get inside, you can go see.
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  It'll be a part of the inner Circle solo chat or solo group.
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  OK, OK, now we've talked about hacks for the body and the mind.
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  Now let's hear from the person who lives through every
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  experiment with me. And this is Carmen's care
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  partner corner. And here's what she would have
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  me say to you today. So here's the thing about
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  Bryce's hacks. I've learned that my job isn't
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  to keep up, it's to adapt. You couldn't keep up.
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  No, it's teasing. That was me, that was Bryce, OK?
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  Every time he finds a new rhythm or a workaround, it changes the
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  rhythm for me too. And I've realized that
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  adaptability is our shared superpower.
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  Care partners, your hack might not be magnesium spray or music
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  playlist. It might be flexibility.
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  It's learning to pivot when the plans change or laugh when
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  things go sideways. So my tip for care partners,
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  don't chase perfection. Chase presents.
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  The best hack is just being there, even if you can't fix it.
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  I love that. Chase perfection.
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  Not Chase presence, not perfection.
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  That's the heartbeat of this whole episode.
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  Very cool. All right, here we go.
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  I'm going to wrap this up with three quick ones that keep me
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  grounded. Ready.
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  They're going to go fast. Three quick ones that keep me
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  grounded. Get your pens out.
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  Reverse engineering control. When everything feels
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  unpredictable, I organize one small thing that I can control.
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  My desk, my coffee mugs, my sock drawer.
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  It's not about neatness, it's about peace.
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  Just find that one thing quick. Quick wins quick little things
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  to take control of #2 the 92nd rule.
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  When frustration hits, I give myself 90 seconds to be mad, and
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  then I move on because a bad moment doesn't deserve a whole
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  day. It only deserves 90 seconds.
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  And #3 do one thing that makes you feel useful.
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  You know Parkinson's tries to whisper.
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  You're less capable. So every day, do one small thing
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  that proves it's wrong, that prove it wrong.
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  Fix something to help someone, encourage someone.
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  Purpose is Dopamine's best supplement.
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  Oh, here that one. Purpose is Dopamine's best
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  supplement. I got to write that one down.
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  OK, drop one thing that makes you feel useful.
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  It might inspire someone else's next good day.
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  So hopefully those hacks are something that you can really
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  implement into your day. And if you made it this far,
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  guess what you did. You've unlocked the Bryce should
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  have like a sound effect there. You've unlocked the Bryce ISM.
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  OK, here is your Bryce ISM for today.
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  You can't control Parkinson's, but you can control how creative
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  you get about living with it. Simple, but true.
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  All right, so this week, pick one of those hacks and make it
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  yours. Adapt it, rename it.
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  Well, don't think about renaming it.
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  I think they're cool names. But anyway, adapt it, rename it,
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  break it, improve it. Because survival with
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  Parkinson's isn't just about doing it my way, it's about
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  discovering your way. And let me know in the comments
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  which one are you going to try first or do you have a weird
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  hack of your own that works? Share it because you never know
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  who might need help. And if you're ready to keep
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  building connection, purpose, and humor into your journey,
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  come over and join us in the inner circle again.
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  There's a care partner group. There is a now a living solo
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  group. And people are waiting to just
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  communicate and do life with you.
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  All right. And don't forget to subscribe.
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  It's free, it helps the community grow, and it tells
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  YouTube that Parkinson's stories matter.
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  They really do. And until next time, you keep
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  showing up, you keep laughing, and you keep doing life today.
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  We'll see you later.