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Hi, I don't think you need to feel a responsibility to share everything all at once , and to educate your coworkers on PD. There's time for that; it's a process. Also, IMHO, the Prime Gossip Monger's "need" to know is HER PROBLEM; don't let her make it yours. That's hard--I've been there--indeed I am there. Most of the time I just ignore the troublemakers; sometimes, when I'm fed up and have an opportunity, I turn it around on them, so they can "try it on for size" -- in other words, so they can see how it feels, or at least to make it known that I don't appreciate their actions, insinuations, or prying. It's unfortunate, though, that all this takes energy--energy that is in short supply for most PWPs. I believe that people who seem to so easily exacerbate the suffering of vulnerable people, are truly perverse. I hate game playing and manipulations; however, one has to protect oneself. Try to find a method of interacting with her that does not deplete your energy, or that rattles you, but serves to empower you instead--especially since the slightest upset or stress usually worsens tremor. Otherwise, you may go home feeling spent, and your tremor increasing in that environment. How about this--while putting your hands where they won't shake any worse or at all, look at her directly, and either don't answer her, or ask HER a question in return. Answer a question with a question. I find that looking at the offender and responding to impertinent questions with, "Why do you ask?" or "we've been over that--let's move on"--often induces the offender to suddenly look down at their shoes and to back off. Show strength! Don't let them put YOU on the defensive. Good luck, Charlotte Mancuso On Mon, 29 Jul 2002 18:07:16 -0700 CCD <[log in to unmask]> writes: > I have a problem when it comes to sharing the diagnosis at work. My > tremor is becoming more > evident as time passes and my neurologist doesn't want to prescribe > anything until I am assessed > at the Movement Disorders Clinic (where I have an appointment in a > month from now.) My immediate > supervisor is aware of what is going on and is very supportive. > > However, a number of people want to know why I have resigned from a > couple of high profile, high > stress (volunteer) positions at work. One of these people is a > persistent person who wants all the > "dirt" on anything and everything. She is probably The Primary > Source of gossip and is also prone > to catastrophizing things. I have tried to go with the "personal > circumstances" or "medical > issues" route, but it doesn't always work. And I want to be honest > as well as desiring to educate > people about PD. > > Got any good suggestions??? > > __________________________________________________ > Do You Yahoo!? > Yahoo! Health - Feel better, live better > http://health.yahoo.com > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: > mailto:[log in to unmask] > In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn