A Single Valentine
It is Valentine’s Day, and I am celebrating being single with Parkinson’s.
“Why?” you might ask. I get newsletters, emails, and social media postings from various organizations that support people affected by Parkinson’s. Recently there’s been a lot of workshops and postings about keeping loving relationships strong when Parkinson’s is involved.
Some recommendations:
join support groups together
go to couples therapy
go on walks together and not talk about PD
talk about losses in the relationship due to PD
make good quality time together
schedule times for “intimate interactions”
attend neurological appointments together
These recommendations are common across the various sources. These will improve a relationship or “keep the fire burning” when one person has Parkinson’s. Hopeful, right? Well, it sounds like too much work for me! Relationships are complicated enough without having to go to therapy to find out what more is wrong from someone else’s perspective. And scheduling time for sex? Look, I only calendar activities I don’t like - dentist appointments, oil changes, colonoscopies, tax day…you get the idea. I would need to add sex to this? I’ll just stay single…for now.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Resources:
MJFF - Parkinson's Disease and Your Marriage
Original Artwork ©2023, Steve Steinberg