You may feel tempted to keep your diagnosis hidden for years, especially if you have not coped with your diagnosis yet. By hiding your disease, you are keeping your loved ones in your pre-diagnosis life.
Speaking with your loved ones engages them in new relationships and connects your prior and post-diagnosis life. This brings together the past that you shared with your loved ones, your present condition and the future plans you have invited them to take part in. By doing this, your story’s main actors are you and your loved ones instead of the disease.
Revealing your diagnosis can prevent social isolation, which is common in Parkinson’s, and be a therapeutic act that helps you better live with the disease.
The first years of treatment are commonly referred to as the “honeymoon phase” because your disease can go unnoticed without too many adjustments on your part. But you cannot pretend to be living in the same conditions as your old life for too long. Take advantage of the fact that you still have enough energy to take this step with your loved ones,
Moving on from pretending to talking openly about your disease is a major accomplishment that allows you to bridge your old life and the one that lies ahead.