The Parkinson Alliance Survey Reports a Relationship Between Patience and Well-Being in Parkinson's Disease

KINGSTON, N.J., Oct. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Parkinson Alliance conducted its 19th survey-based research, entitled Patience and Well-Being in Parkinson's Disease. The survey examined how patience relates to functional impairment and psychological well-being in Parkinson's disease (PD).  Data was gathered from 1,482 participants with Parkinson's and included individuals who have had Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) and those without DBS.  This survey revealed that in individuals with Parkinson's disease (with and without DBS), patience was significantly related to psychological well-being and quality of life.  While patience did not have a strong relationship with the level of functional difficulty the person with Parkinson's experiences, functional difficulty did have an impact on psychological well-being and quality of life.

In the study, the majority of individuals reported that patience helps them cope with their symptoms, and over half of the participants reported that patience increased their engagement in social activities.  Results from our survey supports the notion that patience can be a buffer against negative emotions in stressful situations, allow the person to cope more adaptively with frustrations, facilitate positive interpersonal interactions, and facilitate goal attainment.  Exercise was the number one technique that survey participants used to increase their patience.

"There are numerous adaptive coping mechanisms that may relate to increasing patience that are unknown, unfamiliar or underutilized by individuals with PD.  Furthermore, a more holistic approach to well-being to address a broader scope of wellness for people with PD and family and/or carers is being proposed.  Three facets of the 'well-being model' rather than the 'symptom-focused model' include mindfulness (of which "patience" is a part), perspective management, and behavioral activation," comments Jeffrey Wertheimer, Ph.D., ABPP-CN, clinical neuropsychologist and Chief Research Consultant for The Parkinson Alliance. 

Information about patience and additional aspects of psychological well-being as it relates to individuals with PD are discussed in this report.  The entire report is available for download at www.dbs4pd.org and includes take home points, general implications, and recommendations.

About The Parkinson Alliance
The Parkinson Alliance is a national non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for Parkinson's research and improving the quality of life in the DBS community.  After undergoing bi-lateral DBS in 2000, Margaret Tuchman, President of PA, founded DBS4PD.org to keep the community informed.

Contact
Carol Walton
CEO
The Parkinson Alliance
1-800-579-8440
[email protected]

SOURCE The Parkinson Alliance

Related Links

http://www.dbs4pd.org