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>Roger, I am going out on a limb here, because I am not medically qualified, >but my guess is that your father has clinical depression. After checking that >out with someone who is qualified, maybe you could get him interested in a >hobby, or get him talking to friends, or relatives who he may have drifted >away from, or do anything to give him a new outlook. If he is able to use a >computer to get on the internet, maybe he can get in touch with folks who >share his interests. Hope you can get him back on track. If he could >communicate with people like Don McKinley, he might see what a difference a >positive outlook can have! [log in to unmask] > > Hello Ken, and thank you for your reply. There's no question, my dad *is* severely depressed and in fact has been for quite some time. I believe in fact the man has probably been depressed (with a dysthymic type mood disorder) much of his life. That has long been my assumption, also, that most of his obsessions and behaviors were due to this long standing mood disorder, which has clearly exacerbated since May when he entered AFC placement. I have consulted with his physician several times re: these concerns. As a result, my father has been tried on several trials of various antidepressant medications, most recently Welbutrin, all of which he insists "don't help me at all," and in fact only make him worse. His pattern has been to take a new med for 1 or 2 days, before refusing to continue. Amazingly enuff, however, he *has* continued on the Welbutrin for approximately 8 weeks now, after initially refusing it for a number of months last spring/summer. Unfortunately, there has been only minimal improvment noted to date. So your initial impressions were absolutely correct; he *is* depressed, and *would* benefit from constructive outside involvements whidh would get his focus off himself.... Unfortunately, I see very little possibility of this ever happening. He refuses to "socialize," says he "can't" do anything to help himself or change his outlook, and will only see immediate family members for visitors. He shows very little interest or enthusiasum about *anything* outside of his condition and conviction he is "going to die." So my feeling again is that these behaviors *do* stem from his depression; however I was uncertain if perhaps this sense that one "can't breathe" and the feeling that one is "about to die" is characteristic of advanced Parkinson's? Do other Parkinsonian patients experience similar sensations? Is this sense one will stop breathing a common symptom of Parkinson's? Ken, I do thank you for your insight and good suggestions. I realize I should have noted in my previous post that my dad has indeed been diagnosed as clinically depressed, and has been under a psychiatrist's care for this disorder. Roger