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The 5 Parkinson s Habits That Are Slowly Making You Worse! · Living with Parkinson’s | Bryce Perry

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  What if I told you that some of the things making your
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  Parkinson's symptoms worse aren't actually your symptoms at
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  all? They're habits.
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  Sneaky, quiet, everyday habits that start small and before you
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  know it, they built themselves right into your routine.
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  And don't worry, I'm not about to preach about smoking or
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  drinking or kale smoothies. I'm talking about 5 hidden
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  Parkinson's habits that almost every one of us slips into.
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  I've done them all, and some of them nearly ran my life for
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  years. Well, today I'm going to walk
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  you through all five, with the science behind why they happen
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  and the stories that prove it, and some simple ways to flip the
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  script and stick with me till the very end.
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  Because I've got a challenge for you, and one that might
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  completely change your next month.
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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, I'm Bryce and this is living with Parkinson's.
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  The good, the bad, and the reality.
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  Now, if you're new here, welcome to the family.
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  I was diagnosed with Parkinson's when I was 40 years old and for
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  a long time, I just tried to power through it.
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  It's a long 15 years. I told myself I didn't need to
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  talk about it and then I can handle it alone.
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  But the truth is, Parkinson's doesn't just challenge your
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  body, it rewires your habits, your confidence, your energy,
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  and your mindset. And that's why this channel
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  exists. Because none of us should have
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  to figure this out alone. Now, if you've been around here
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  for a while, you already know this community is growing fast.
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  Thousands of people are tuning in because they've tired of
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  surviving and they want to live. So that's you too.
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  Hit subscribe and stay with me because we have got some work to
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  do. But let's get into these five
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  habits that you might not even realize you're doing.
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  And let's start with the let's start with habit #5 and this is
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  a big one. It's the I'll rest when I feel
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  better habit. Now here's how that one looked
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  for me. I remember one day I sat down
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  after breakfast thinking I'll just rest a minute before I
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  stretch. I blinked and suddenly it was
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  lunch. I convinced myself I was too
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  tired to move, but in reality, not moving was why I was tired.
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  Now here's the science. Dopamine doesn't just control
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  how we move, it controls our drive to move.
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  When dopamine drops, your brain starts rewarding rest instead of
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  activity. It says you've done enough, stay
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  still. I don't mind that one.
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  Right, but what that really means is your brain is tricking
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  you. It's giving you permission to
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  slow down and when what your body actually needs is momentum.
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  And trust me, I've fallen for that trick more than once.
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  I remember one time I told Carmen I think I needed a rest
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  day and she said, Bryce, you've had a rest week.
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  And that's when I realized the difference between tired and
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  stuck. Now, if that sounds familiar, I
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  want you to comment right now and tell me how this habit shows
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  up for you. Because when we name it, we can
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  change it. Now here's the fix.
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  Don't wait for your energy. Don't wait for energy before you
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  move. Let movement create energy.
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  It's kind of opposite to how we think, isn't it?
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  Do something small, walk, you know during commercials, stretch
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  in bed before you stand up. Do laps around the kitchen
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  island, right? Yes, laps.
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  I do it all the time. Carmen laughs every time she
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  catches me passing the fridge for the fifth time.
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  We've got, we can walk through our kitchen, through our dining
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  room, like in the hallway and around.
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  And I just keep, I do laps. It's, it's like a, it's like a
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  routine because every step you take, your brain is relearning
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  movement. And once you start, it's a lot
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  easier to keep going. OK, so let's talk about this,
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  about the habit #4 right. And we're making our way up here
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  to #1 but the I can do it myself habit.
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  Now this one hits home. I used to be terrible for this
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  and I sometimes still can slip into this one very easily.
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  I'd wave people off costly. Nope, I've got it right.
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  I didn't want to look weak or like I was giving up
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  independence. But there's a big difference
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  between independence and isolation.
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  The truth is, social interaction literally boost dopamine.
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  When you talk, when you laugh, when you connect with somebody,
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  your brain lights up like you've just taken a micro dose of
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  motivation, right? Isolation does the exact
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  opposite. It shuts those circuits down.
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  So when you push people away, you're not protecting your
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  pride. You're cutting off your brain's
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  chemistry. And believe me, I get it.
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  The first time I asked my son to help me open a jar, it felt like
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  defeat. He looked at me.
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  He smiled and said, you know, Dad, I've been waiting 15 years
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  for this moment. I laughed so hard I forgot to
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  feel embarrassed. And that's when it clicked.
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  Connection is medicine. So here's a challenge right now.
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  If somebody offers to help you today, don't say no out of
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  habit. Say yes.
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  Let them. It doesn't make you weak, but it
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  gives you both a win. You understand what I meant
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  there. Let them do it, but don't do it
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  just because you're just so used to say no.
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  You don't want to just do it because you're going.
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  You want to allow them to do it for you.
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  OK, all right, let's move on to the next one.
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  Now this one I I've actually preached before like we should
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  do this one but the fake it till you make it habit.
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  Now this one's sneaky because it looks like strength.
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  We put on a brave face face. We smile through the tremors and
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  we tell everyone we're fine. I used to tell people I was fine
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  even when my tremor was shaking, shaking the coffee cup so bad it
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  looked like I was holding a maraca.
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  I'd say Nope, I'm good while secretly try not to spill it all
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  over my shirt. That disconnect confused
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  everyone, including me because I started to believe it.
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  Now listen to this. This is the science behind this.
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  When dopamine and serotonin, serotonin circuits are affected,
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  your brain struggles to connect emotion to expression.
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  Let me say it again, when the dopamine and the serotonin
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  circuits are affected, your brain struggles to connect
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  emotion to expression. And that's why we get and what
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  we call facial masking. You might feel happy or angry or
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  scared, but your face doesn't always show it.
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  So people think you're fine. So what that means is you end up
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  feeling invisible. And that is a lonely place to
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  be. And being honest about how
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  you're really feeling doesn't make you a burden.
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  It gives people around you a chance to understand how to show
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  up for you. And with that, it's time for
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  Carmen's care partner corner again.
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  Let Carmen read through kind of what I was going to talk about
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  today. And this is what she had to say.
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  Hey, everyone, it's Carmen. You know, when Bryce talks about
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  pretending to be fine, I have to admit care partners are guilty
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  of that too. We put on a brave face because
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  we don't want to add to the stress.
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  But here's the thing. You can't pour from an empty
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  cup. I have to remind myself of all.
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  I have to remind myself of that all the time.
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  And I tell other care partners the same thing.
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  Saying I'm fine when you're not doesn't protect anyone.
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  It just ignores what's really going on.
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  And it keeps you from getting the help or the rest that you
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  need. Sometimes it's OK to say, no,
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  I'm not fine. And that's not a weakness.
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  That's called communication. And it's a way of saying that I
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  matter too. So if your care partner watching
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  this, here's my challenge to you.
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  Remember how in the last episode we all said, still learning in
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  the comments? Let's keep that going because
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  that's exactly what we're doing here.
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  We're learning that taking care of yourself is taking care of
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  your person. So still learning if you're a
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  care partner out there, still learning, if you agree with all
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  of that, that's what karma says. In that way, it reminds us that
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  we're still learning and we're not perfect.
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  That was really well said. I really like the last part of
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  that, that she said, learning that taking care of yourself is
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  taking care of your person. OK, wow.
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  All right, here we go. We're making our way down to the
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  to the number one. The number one here's #2 right
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  #2 right. I don't need to track it.
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  Oh, I was waiting for this one. Because, you know, if you've
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  been watching, you know, I love tracking stuff.
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  I love stats. I love stats.
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  OK, confession. I used to think I could just
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  feel it out, right? I take my meds whenever things
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  started to feeling off. Sometimes I'd miss a dose
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  because I was too busy and then wonder why I felt like a parked
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  car for half the day. And here's what really is
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  happening. Levodopa's half life is about 90
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  minutes. After that, your dopamine levels
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  start dipping again. If you're late on your meds,
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  you're not just off schedule, you're off balance.
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  Now, in simple terms, if you're not tracking, you're guessing.
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  And guessing with Parkinson's is like guessing the weather
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  without looking outside. So here's what works for me.
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  I set alarms, real alarms, loud ones, not timers, I mean alarms,
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  alarms that will not stop. My phone goes off and I take the
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  pill right then. Well, OK, let me back up.
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  I should take the pill right then if I don't take the pill
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  right then within a couple of minutes, I forget.
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  So I've had to as soon as it goes off no excuses.
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  I have to take that pill no matter what I'm doing.
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  OK, I also use that pill bottle cap timer telling you lifesaver.
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  I just I know I say that a lot, but it oh so amazing sounds Now,
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  all this sounds overboard, but it saved me more times than I
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  can count. Matter of fact, Carmen and I
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  sync our timers so that we're on the exact same time.
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  So if I miss mine, she's got hers.
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  And sometimes the timers stop or the power goes, I don't know,
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  something can go wrong. So there's always good for
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  backup. And that's how I'm that stickler
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  on meds, on time every time, right?
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  And I'll tell you, I'll tell you that that the the days that I
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  actually follow the timing like that, I'm on time, like right on
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  the nose, I'm sharper, I'm calmer and Carmen says I'm less
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  annoying, which is high praise in this house.
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  So if you're guilty of this one type hashtag track my meds in
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  the comments right now. I want to know who's joining me
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  in that club, right? So again, got to track them guys
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  got to, got to, got to, got to you.
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  And that brings us to the final habit.
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  This is the number one habit and the one we're most guilty of
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  that's actually causing us more. It's hidden.
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  We're not even realize we're doing it and it's hurting us.
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  And that's this. I'm fine where I am now.
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  This one's easy to fall into because comfort feels safe.
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  You find your routine, you get used to it, and before you know
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  it, you stop challenging yourself.
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  But here's the catch, your brain's ability to adapt, called
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  neuroplasticity, only activates when you push it right.
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  If you stay too comfortable, your brain basically says your
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  brain, your brain pain, your brain basically says cool, no
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  need to upgrade. For me it was exercise.
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  I used to do the same short walk everyday, same route, same pace,
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  same time. And one day I realized I wasn't
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  getting any stronger. I was just maintaining my
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  comfort zone. So I had to change it up.
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  I tried boxing, I tried other things.
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  And then listen, listen, picture me trying to box the first
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  class. I swung at the air, lost my
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  balance, and I almost punched the mirror instead.
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  That's my life. That's what I do.
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  You know, I heard someone say, nice form.
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  I yelled back for who? But I was stuck with it.
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  And guess what? I just stuck with it.
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  And guess what? My brain loved it.
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  Every new movement, every new challenge, it's like sending a
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  message to your brain saying we're still learning and we're
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  still here. Huh.
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  So if you've been sitting on something that you've been
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  scared to try, maybe a class, maybe a hobby, maybe art, maybe
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  joining a group, maybe jumping in the inner circle or a support
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  group near you, this is your nudge.
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  Do it, do it. You got to push yourself, got to
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  push that brain and you have to, no one's going to do it for you.
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  You have to do it. So in the comments, comfort zone
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  challenge, if you're ready to push yourself, if that's you, if
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  you're saying, OK, you know what?
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  I'm, I know I'm going to push myself.
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  I don't want to do this. I mean, I do, but I don't, you
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  know that feeling. I do, but I don't comfort zone
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  challenge if you're ready to push yourself, right?
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  And so here's what I want you to do right now.
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  Pick one of these five habits. This is a challenge.
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  Pick one of these five habits and commit to breaking it this
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  week, just one of them, right? Go back, Go back in the video,
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  look back at the five different challenges, the five different
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  habits that I've said, See which ones you're doing and give me
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  like a one out of five, two out of five, three out of five,
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  whatever it is. If you can recognize these in
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  your daily life in the comments, one out of five or five out of
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  five, whatever it is that you are actually, you can say, yeah,
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  that's me, right? I want you to break one of them.
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  Just one. Don't, don't try to do well.
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  Five. OK, small steps.
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  Small steps, just one. Then I want you to come back to
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  this video next week and tell me what changed.
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  And to make it fun, tag your challenge in the comments.
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  How about this? Hashtag movement Monday.
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  Hashtag ask for help. Hashtag track my meds.
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  Hashtag real talk or hashtag comfort Zone Challenge.
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  Put it in the comments and then what you did.
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  And then you can actually go to YouTube and we can look for that
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  hashtag. We can just search for the
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  hashtag and you'll see everybody who's in it.
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  So here we go in hashtag Movement Monday.
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  Hashtag ask for help, hashtag track my meds.
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  Hashtag real talk or hashtag comfort zone challenge.
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  Remember, just pick one. Let's fill the comments with
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  momentum, right? And if you're still watching,
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  hit that subscribe button. Subscribe button.
• 13:41
  Because when you do, you're not just following a channel, you're
• 13:45
  joining a movement of people who are done being quiet about
• 13:47
  Parkinson's, done living day by day and ready to take it on.
• 13:51
  And if you're newly diagnosed, check out the new boot camp.
• 13:55
  It'll help you get, it'll help you get your footing and make
• 13:58
  sense of everything. There is only, I think at this,
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  at the time of this airing, at the time of this airing, I think
• 14:04
  there's 8 spots left and then we're going.
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  And if you're ready to connect with others, join me in the
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  inner circle. That's where we go deeper.
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  That's where the conversation isn't happening.
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  That's where the real Hass happened.
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  That's where the live calls happening this week.
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  If you join today, you get in. We're doing the live call this
• 14:20
  week now ready for this? You ready for this?
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  What do I call them again? Racism.
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  No, I won't give you that yet. Oh, I will hold on though.
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  With Parkinson's, you can't always control the symptoms, but
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  you can control the story to tell yourself about them.
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  You can choose to move, to speak up, to track, to grow, and to
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  connect. It's all up to you.
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  So here's that. Bryce hasn't even made it this
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  far. Here it is.
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  Small habits might not cure Parkinson's, but they sure as
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  hell can cure the feeling of being stuck.
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  So let's get unstuck. I'm stuck in the comments.
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  And then till next time, keep showing up, keep learning, keep
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  laughing and you keep doing life today.