 |
 |
On Fri, 5 Feb 1999, Kleynscheldt, Gerrit wrote: > My personal viewpoint is that I judge the amount of information that I give > to the person that I talk to. Meeting an acquaintance in an elevator will > not result in me getting him updated with the latest detailed reports. > Discussing my PD with my wife is detailed, without leaving anything out. I have found that telling my colleagues about my PD has made a difference. Some had great problems talking to me (although they tried to hide it) afterwards, but that is beginning to go away. Some people seem to be afraid of disease, and what should I to against that except talking and showing that I 'm still the same, but shakier? - I told them because I have recieved incredibly stupid comments from people who have thought that I had a serious hangover, etc etc. One lady at a dance-course almost laughed at me bacause she thought I was shaking from nervousness, and I had to tell her THREE times that it was PD that caused it. She simply refused to believe me. *sigh* Of course, as you say, it's also important to adjust the dose to the patient. :) A colleague desn't need the full treatment, but my girlfriend definitely deserves to hear as much as possible, since she wants to be informed and sincerely wants to share my whole life, good and bad alike. > I feel that it is important that people see a balanced you. Do not always > be negative and down. I always ask myself how I would react if I were in > their shoes. People are drawn to interesting people, and pushed away from > people who are always whining and complaining. YES! How many of us haven't been sitting in a bus behind somebody who was whining about their illnesses to somebody who wasn't interested and couldn't leave because they didn't want to be rude? I have found that most people will be very supportive in my bad days, if I am sincere about my feelings: today I'm happy and full of life, today life is tough because my left side hurts like you-know-what and I have to type with my right hand only since the other is completely useless. I found it very interesting to hear about the people who want to know about how your family is doing! In our culture(s) most people ask "how do you do", but without actually wanting to hear the truth... It's just part of the script! Take care, and thank you for your answer! (That goes for all of the list-people who have answered my letter; I'm sorry if I have forgotten somebody!) /John (30 now/ 28 dx/ 18 onset)