Could it be that what we call "PD" is an inability to change? Think about this a moment.

Every organism has an ability to change in response to its environment. With some more, with others less. The same is true of individuals within a species, including humans. We all know people who can role with the punches and those simply cannot. Where do we fall on the spectrum? I know that I have always preferred that my environment be stable and I suspect that the "Parkinson's Personality" may reflect this.

So, what happens when you bend a stick beyond a certain point? It breaks, of course. Are we broken sticks? Or are we sticks that exist on that event horizon where we are just short of breaking? As soon as we are born, the external world starts to stress us. That's OK because that allows us to respond to the world and stay alive. But we all have a limit. We bend and bend, but if the wind doesn't let up we become mis-shapen and if it blows too strong we break.

A lot of PWP have endured an unusually large stress load in their lives. We also know that it is common to have acute stress in the months before PD symptoms manifest.

Much of our stress response is centered in the autonomic nervous systems and it is common for this system to be damaged in PD.

Many of us over react to sudden noise and "jump" - the startle reflex. Is this not a sign of a system hovering at that critical point?

Is it a coincidence that the most promising of the "natural" treatments we have discussed on this board - particularly turmeric - have been plants that fall into the category of adaptogenic? A category that medicine barely acknowledges as existing? And yet the single "magic bullet" approach of modern science fails time and again?

And, if we look at the situation from an "as above, so below" vantage point, the neuroinflammatory aspects of PD reflect this state to a certain extent.

So, does anyone relate to this?