This (mid-November) seems like a good point to update my PD blog.
Since the last posting I've spent a month in Italy (which was grand, two weeks at REGEN and two weeks on holiday in Val Gardena and in the Stubai Valley (in Austria)) and a month mostly in Oxford (which was not so grand).
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| In the Dolomites |
So why the difference?
Aside from the obvious, the weather was better in Italy than in Oxford, the food and wine was better and served at very regular intervals and we were staying in good hotels and were waited on hand and foot, why did 'travelling' time seem better than 'home' time and what's this got to do with Parkinson's anyway?
I'm coming to the conclusion that there are two (possibly related) issues.
Firstly, physical health. I so often feel better when I'm away from Oxford - sometimes (like this autumn) I pick up bugs when I'm travelling and bring them home with me, which means that during the first few days back in Oxford I feel really de-energised and I seem to lose any of the travel benefits. But it feels like there's more to it than this. My breathing is worse when I'm in Oxford (I've been on asthma meds for forever) - and it's much harder to get the exercise I need. Maybe it's just laziness, but it's much easier to be enthusiastic about a morning walk on Quendale Beach (on Shetland) than about three laps of Bury Knowle Park (in Oxford). Why does Oxford seem to be so de-energising? Is it just me? Is is just that it's too far from the sea or the mountains.
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| On Quendale Beach |
And secondly, mental health - which is where I think there's the Parkinson's link - as I said in the last post, the PD meds seem to be keeping the motor symptoms under control, not so happy about the non-motor symptoms.
Life in Oxford is complex and, at times, overwhelming. Oxford is where life gets complicated. It's where the diary fills up, with medical and dental appointments, with haircuts (I hate going to the barber!), with car servicing, with any number of 'things that need to done in Oxford'.
A clear day in the diary in Oxford is a rare event - and when it does happen, I often struggle to make good use of the time.
When I'm at REGEN in Italy, life is very simple - I turn up in the gym and get told what do, and when I'm done I head back to the hotel for another meal. And repeat. The only decisions are from the menu.
When I'm travelling (I'm thinking of the time I spent in Norway or elsewhere in Italy this year), life is a notch more complex - there might be a decision about which path to walk, or which bus or train to catch - but it's still a lot simpler than in Oxford.
So, where does Shetland fit in to this picture? Shetland is the maybe another notch up from travelling. There is a bit more complexity - there's no domestic staff, if I want a nice meal in the evening I need to find and prepare it (or at least contribute to the shopping and cooking and clearing up), there's house cleaning and maintenance to be done. But, in reality, the big decision each day is which beach or headland to walk and what pictures to share from the day.
One of the challenges for me (in any of the settings) is always what to do with life's complexities and the associated anxieties.
When I'm at REGEN, I'm only there briefly so, any complexity can be parked and dealt with later. When I'm travelling there are some logistics complexities that need addressing but most stuff can be left until later. When I'm on Shetland there are a few more things that need to be addressed but most stuff (rightly or wrongly) gets left until later.
Then there's Oxford. That's where all the complexity (and stress and anxiety) get dumped. There isn't any 'later' or 'elsewhere' to offload the complexity to and that certainly doesn't help my stress or general mental well-being.
I guess that provokes the question, what can I do about my Oxford stresses, and where (and how) can I offload them?
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