Hiding Your Parkinson’s Can Make It Harder: Why Pushing Through Backfires

Living with Parkinson’s | Bryce Perry · Sep 3, 2026 · 13m

Have you ever caught yourself trying to hide a Parkinson’s symptom in public?

Holding your hand still.

Walking faster than feels natural.

Trying to look “normal.”

Pretending nothing is happening.

I’ve done all of it.

And one of the strangest things I learned is that sometimes the harder I try to hide Parkinson’s, the harder Parkinson’s becomes to manage.

In this episode of Living with Parkinson’s: The Good, the Bad, and the Reality, we talk about why masking symptoms, rushing, pushing through, and constantly trying not to be noticed can actually add more tension, more stress, and more effort…