Parkinson’s: A Parasite, Not a Vulture

Parkinson’s: A Parasite, Not a Vulture – I may not be an expert on the Animal Kingdom, but to me, Parkinson’s disease resembles a parasite more than a vulture. While a vulture feeds off the dead, a parasite feeds off the living, siphoning off their vitality. Parkinson’s, in my experience, is much like the latter, and here’s why.

Many people simplify Parkinson’s into motor and non-motor symptoms. While this is true, there’s a crucial aspect often overlooked: Parkinson’s feeds off a range of other sources of pain.

My worst moments with Parkinson’s almost always coincide with other challenges—when I’m exposed. Lack of sleep, stress, fear, illness, or overexertion all provide fertile ground for Parkinson’s to amplify its effects. It pounces on these moments of weakness, turning up the volume and often breaking the system under the cumulative load.

It’s not just about Parkinson’s versus another illness or motor versus non-motor symptoms. It’s the combined effect—the tornado—that erupts when Parkinson’s mixes with other mental, emotional, or physical stressors. This chemical reaction (changes in dopamine) is what makes it so devastating. Personally, I would prefer physical pain over mental and emotional anguish any day. A sore muscle or the pain from a spinal tap is minor compared to emotional torture. With Parkinson’s, one feeds the other, so it’s not either-or; it can be both.

I’ve come to understand that life’s mental anguishes, stress, and lack of sleep somehow mutate and magnify the disease. It’s like a parasite, eating you from the inside, especially when you’re weak.

It is not just me saying that – numerous research papers say the same thing. Take for example a study in 2016 called; “An Integrated Review of Psychological Stress in Parkinson’s Disease: Biological Mechanisms and Symptom and Health Outcomes”. It found that: “Psychological stress may exacerbate biological mechanisms believed to contribute to neuronal loss in PD and lead to poorer symptom and health outcomes. The results revealed significant associations between psychological stress and increased motor symptom severity and loss of dopamine-producing neurons in animal models of PD and between psychological stress and increased symptom severity and poorer health outcomes in human subjects with PD”

So, what can we do? This is a tough question, and many people know more than I do. For me, it’s about two things: stopping the stressors at their source and breaking the spiral cycle.

Stopping the Stressors

It’s easy to say “don’t get stressed” and “sleep more,” but these are hard actions. Nonetheless, they are true. My job was far too stressful and took a toll on my Parkinson’s symptoms. My neurologist emphasized that while working is critical for brain activity, it must be balanced with stress management. Stress is truly a killer for people with Parkinson’s. It took about two years, but I’ve made significant changes to reduce my work stress. I now work 12 hours instead of 16, which has helped manage my stress better. Others may need to make more radical lifestyle changes, and I still need to solve my sleep issues.

Cutting the Spiral Cycle

Whether through meditation, yoga, deep breathing, or pilates, we need to learn to break the cycle where things spin out of control. By spotting the first signs—like losing balance or feeling choked—I can take action. I can sit down, stop eating, or calm myself through deep breathing or music. I’m learning and continue to learn.

Music Therapy

My late neurologist once prescribed me an hour of music a day. He meant it. Music helps me calm down, reduce stress, and take time out. Others may have different ways of switching off. Finding your thing is part of the battle.

Parkinson’s has a catalogue of motor and non-motor symptoms that need treatment and attention. For me, the additional layer is preventing the fusion of elements that cause the volcano to blow. I’m a work in progress and appreciate people’s ideas. Of course, it’s easier said than done.

Parkinson’s: A Parasite, Not a Vulture?

There are similarities to me of the parasite analogy and it needs to be stopped from forming and then we must keep the body strong to withstand the pressure of the parasite weakening it. I have never seen the results of surveys on whether parasites respond to music – I am straying far to far off course.