Twitchy Woman

My Adventures with Parkinson's Disease

Creativity and Parkinson’s

There has been a lot of talk about PWP who have discovered their creative side. I found several studies on-line that addressed PD and Creativity. According to a study published last year in the Annals of Neurology, People with Parkinson’s disease (PD) who take dopaminergic medications show enhanced creativity.

Many people find that when doing something creative, their symptoms improve. I had been doing calligraphy professionally for many years before I was diagnosed with P images D. I found that my handwriting went from ok to bad to illegible in a short amount of time. But when I put the Calligraphy pen in my hand, everything changed. My calligraphy was no longer as beautiful as it was, but was still quite good, and my tremor disappeared the second the pen touched the paper. Calligraphy for me is meditative and I find it is very calming, especially for my PD symptoms.

(my calligraphy before I went on Sinimet) (This is my handwriting when on meds)

Another way creativity shows up in PD is with newfound skills in creating art, writing, playing music, etc. I never considered myself a writer before, but now I look forward to sitting down at the computer and just writing whatever comes to mind. Writing this blog was a way to focus my newfound writing skills into something constructive.

Have any of you had similar experiences? Are you one of those people who could not draw a stick figure before but now paints fabulous pieces of art? The Parkinson’s Disease Foundation actually has a gallery to showcase artwork by PWP. http://www.pdf.org/creativity

If you are moved to paint, draw, write, please share with me. I would love to see what you are doing.

Beverly Hills, CA, USA

Sharon Krischer

August 8, 2015

Living Well

Annals of Neurology, Calligraphy and PD, Creativity and PD, Parkinson’s Disease Foundation

3 responses to “Creativity and Parkinson’s”

justcametomind

August 23, 2015 at 7:46 am

Since my diagnoses of PD, I also have had a desire to write. It just started one day and won’t stop. I tried to find an effective way to satisfy this newfound hunger. I tried journaling, just writing on a word processor, posting my writings on Facebook and ended up blogging. I have pretty much lost the ability to use a pen and paper or a computer keyboard. But I found an app for the iPad that lets me slide a stylus from letter to letter which I can do easily without much pain. I have written for a while now and have received very few comments, ( except of course for the fake “likes” that you get when you post a new blog.) I know they send them to keep us encouraged and continue blogging. I know they are fake because I have two WordPress blog sites and I have received likes from myself.
I know it shouldn’t matter, but it would be nice to know if what I spend so much time and passion is lousy or not. Another reason I may not get any comments is I tend to stray off the PD subject often. I just think that because my writing come from a Parkinson’s mind, it’s ok to write what comes to me. Because I’m a Christian a lot of what I write about is spiritual in nature and I hope that doesn’t offend anyone. It just who I am.
I guess I’ve said all that just to say, I have a desire to write, too.

Reply
1. skrischer
  
  August 23, 2015 at 7:24 pm
  
  thank you for your comments. Since our blogs are so specific to a disease, I don’t get a lot of written comments either. But when I see people who read my blog, they always tell me how much they enjoy what I have written. My goal has been to share what I have learned about living with PD with others and, hopefully, help them in some way to ease their journey.
  Writing has also been cathartic to me. I don’t publish everything I write on the blog, because sometimes I write just for me. No one else needs to read it. I never enjoyed writing before PD, but like you, I find that I now need to express myself through written words.
  I do not have a huge readership, but it is growing slowly and steadily. The blogging 101 class offered by WordPress helped connect me with others who also write about PD. I guess there are a lot of us with the same obsession. So my advice to you is just keep on writing, even if it is only for yourself. Don’t worry about comments from others and hopefully you will feel more rewarded for your efforts as time goes on.
  
  Twitchy Woman
  Sharon K
  
  Reply
Why do I write? | Twitchy Woman

September 7, 2015 at 8:33 pm

[…] Now I have Parkinson’s Disease. One of the side effects of either the medications or the disease, can be increased creativity, along with obsessive behaviors. And that unleashed the need to write. First I started writing for myself. Because I also have a need to research whatever ailment I have, (my OCD) I became a resource to others who were newly diagnosed with PD. As a result, I started receiving calls and emails from people asking me if I would mind talking to their friend or relative who needed information. That is when I started writing for others. I actually wrote about this in a previous post called Creativity and Parkinson’s. […]

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A Note To My Readers

I love to see your comments and get your emails as we share our collective experiences. But based on a couple of private questions from some of you, remember, I am just a lay person and a patient like the rest of you. For medical and similar advice, you need to talk to your own doctor

Twitchy Woman

Twitchy Women partners with the Parkinson’s Wellness Fund to ensure we have the resources to offer peer support for women with Parkinson’s.

Creativity and Parkinson’s

3 responses to “Creativity and Parkinson’s”

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