Sep 25 2009
Dopamine and Parkinson’s Disease
Question:
You do not believe that Parkinson’s is a disease!!!!!
Do you not believe that there is physical damage to the part of the brain that produces Dopamine?
Do you not believe that the damage has been verified by examining brain tissue from deceased Parkinson’s patients?
“The body is not broken. The body is not diseased. It is simply out of balance”
Is the brain not part of the body? Is the brain just “out of balance”?
Dennis
Response:
Thanks so much for your e mail and your question. I know many people think the same way you think.
I am not a medical doctor. I am a researcher. I find that the Road to Recovery involves examining our thinking about “disease.” – any disease. In this case of course it is Parkinson’s Disease. If we focus on the “disease,” we are holding very negative thoughts about what is happening by thinking:
“My body is broken.”
Since thoughts can manifest anything our heart desires, holding this thought will insure that our body will forever remain broken.
What percent of the body is “broken” in the case of Parkinson’s? I assure you that answer varies widely across persons. My hunch is that a tiny proportion of cells are problematic: perhaps 1%; maybe 3% for some people. At least 97% of the cells are working perfectly. I would say that is close enough for me to say that the body is working perfectly. Speaking for myself, I get much more energy by focusing on what is working than what is not working.
You say that damage has been verified by autopsies. This is certainly true, but only in a minority of autopsies. For a majority of autopsies, they find no substantia nigra damage. Don’t take my word for it. Do your own research on the matter. I have been surprised myself to see how low the percent actually is.
My point is that you are holding the belief that cells in your brain are dead. It may be the case that a tiny fraction of cells in your brain are dead, but cells are dying throughout the body all the time. It is the natural process of life and death.
It is also possible you are one of the majority where there is no damage to your substantia nigra. There is no way to tell without an autopsy.
A third of the people who have a diagnosis of Parkinson’s are misdiagnosed. It happens. There is no definitive test for it. Perhaps you are one of the one third who have been misdiagnosed? There are certainly many possible causes for the symptoms. For example – perhaps toxins are the culprit and not cell damage in the substantia nigra.
Let’s say all of these speculations are wrong and that yes, you do have neural damage in the substantia nigra and that yes, you do have Parkinson’s Disease.
New cells can be created anywhere in the body anytime. If you happen to have an overabundance of dead cells in the substantia nigra for the moment, you can set your intention to grow new ones. If the body can make new cells, I would say it is working perfectly.
Here is the rub: If you focus on the dead cells (assuming they even exist) you are assuring that new cells will not be created. Your thoughts are centered in a negative sphere. If you focus on the reality that your body can heal itself, it will heal itself.
This is what I have learned from my research. At the core of all healing are our thought forms. If you think your body is broken I can assure you it will remain “broken” and become more “broken.” If you believe your body can heal itself, new cells will be born, hormones will be balanced, and your body will return to health and wellness.
The most powerful force in the universe are thoughts. When we change how we think, we change the course of our lives. This is what motivated me to write The Five Steps to Recovery which is all about how to transform our thoughts.
Robert Rodgers, Ph.D.
Parkinsons Recovery
www.parkinsonsrecovery.com
Tags: Parkinson\\\\\\\’s, Parkinson\\\\\\\’s disease, Parkinson\\\\\\\’s disease research, Parkinson\\\\\\\’s disease early symptoms, Parkinson\\\\\\\’s disease symptoms
Well spoken Robert.
Im thinking, if I can believe my body is broken, then I can beleive it can recover itself. Im 4 yrs since they declared me with the PD experience. But looking back, its probably been 7 yrs. I fooled around for along time believing in the gloom and doom, nott focused on anything in particular except fear. Well I changed my thoughts and Im recovering and dont broadcast it because there are angry people out there who dont like to hear that. Sort of like when they first said the earth was round vs longttime belief of it’s flatness. Im quite sure changing ego based thoughts are way more work then exercise or taking meds that arent maybe necessary. Im of the thinking, If yyou dont go within, somewhere down the line, you’ll go without.
Hi all,
So refreshing to read all of the above.
Two and a half years ago, at the age of 40, I was diagnosed with PD.
Considering that I take a holistic view to illness I immediately decided to manage this diagnosis my way and until this day have not been on medication.
The first thing I did was to face the difficult things in my past, which I believe contributed to me having this diagnosis.
I began my journey with councelling/psychotherapy and introduced organic diet and eliminating colours, preservatives and processed foods, hydration and water quality, sleep quality, acupuncture, Bowen Therapy, ayurveda, breathing exercises, gut repair, detox, daily stretching, naturopath/herbalist learning to love myself completely, neurophysiotherapy, meditation, yoga, laughter, fun, exercise and removing myself from stressful situations/negative people.
Note: All of the above were not taken up at the same time but an indication of the different areas i’ve addressed in the last 2.5 years.
I must admit it is hard work pulling it all together and I am blessed that I am in a position to have my recovery as my full-time job and work as my 3/4 to full-time job.
The downside is that you feel everything so it can get you down but yet it’s such a gift to feel exactly what your body is going through in the journey of healing.
There are no drugs to mask the pain or whatever the symptom may be so you can target the problem area as it develops.
The other benefit for me is that I know exactly how the symptoms are tracking without wondering if it’s side-effects from the drugs; I can see how my health regime is benefiting me.
My symptoms are slowly but surely increasing, yet i’ve never felt fitter, happier and content; I love my life and I know I will recover in time!!
I’m happy to share more information at any time.
Warm regards
Antonia