“She stood in the storm and when the wind did not blow her away, she adjusted her sails.” Elizabeth Edwards

A few months after I was diagnosed with Parkinson’s, I crashed…completely. Initially, I had taken the news rather well and felt that nothing had changed. I went about my life and my job as though I could still do it all. It was ‘all good.’

My body said otherwise.

By the time I decided it was time to see the doctor, I was physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted. My bloodwork was crazy. Anemia, low blood pressure, irregular heartbeat, etc. made the simplest of tasks seem exhausting. I was not coping well physically or emotionally.

My doctor called it ‘Adjustment Disorder.’  This made perfect sense. It could be called Acceptance Disorder, Acknowledgement Disorder, Adherence Disorder etc. Nevertheless, I wasn’t doing well at any of those things. I had developed a chronic, neurodegenerative disease for which there is no cure and no treatment to slow the progression. Yet, I expected my life to continue as though everything was normal. (As I mentioned in The Telling, I tried to downplay and make light of PD…not the best idea!)

My doctor put me on a medical leave of absence from work. I used this time to adjust. Not easy. Eventually, I practiced some much-needed self-care and I began to gather my team of professionals to help me deal with the many facets of this disease.

It took time, four months to be exact, to build my system back up to working order, and even then I was only able to return to work for half days.

I think I will always have Adjustment Disorder.  But I think I have learned to listen to my body and recognize when I need to give myself a break.

To learn more about Adjustment Disorder, click here: Mayo Clinic Adjustment Disorder