Parkinson’s expert Lianna Marie, CEO of AllAboutParkinsons.com, joins Suzanne to talk about using art and creative expression to help her and her mother cope with Parkinson’s.
Lianna says, "There were times where she needed some outlets to deal with disappointments. One of the things is exercise, and how all of us can use that to work through things. But another is creativity, and I wanted to talk about that today, because it is an area that a lot of people with Parkinson's are starting to become aware of, and using their various creative outlets to help them cope through whatever emotions they may be going through: anxiety, sadness, fears of whatever. I would say that Carrie Fisher quote of, 'turn your broken heart into art,' I've loved forever, ever since I heard it, was just managing that, that sense of loss and turning it into something.
Parkinson's patients "start medication, and it's to supplement the dopamine that's they're losing. So most will get on some form of dopamine and, people started noticing, 'hey, I'm getting a lot more creative. Like, I didn't used to be a painter and now magically, I can paint this beautiful masterpiece.' And there are some actual studies going on right now saying this extra dopamine is pointing to higher creativity levels. I've seen people doing welding projects to creating clocks, to photography, to painting, things that they wouldn't otherwise have done before. And it's really quite fascinating. So there's one, that it can be their medication that's helping them become that way. But we are also directing people to find that creative outlet to help them just as a way to turn broken heart into art.
"There's a really neat website, Parkinson's Art. Folks around the world are contributing to this site, and you can take a look at it because it speaks for itself. You'll see. It's a way that you can share your work, whatever you're doing. Some folks are creating videos, others all different kinds of art. But it's just another way to showcase it, and within the community of people with Parkinson's, so it's a neat little thing.
My mom's creative outlet is gardening. And as she got a little bit more challenged physically, she had someone help her. She had a rock garden on a slope and various flowers, and she had a vision of what she wanted that to look like. I am not the person who does the gardening. It's not on my resume — we learned the hard way because my mom would say do this, do this, do this. And I'd be like mom, I'm just gonna do it this way. And she's like, no, that's not how the garden works. So we got a friend to help us out, all that to say mom's creativity was channeled through this other woman who was brilliant at it. So that was one way we adapted, in terms of mom having this wanting to get this creativity out with regards to her flowers, and how they were going to be arranged, and having someone to help her with that. And for others, it's all different kinds of creativity. For me, putting together books, writing, helping other people — that was channeling my disappointment or sadness if you will over my mom.
Lianna adds, "Google Arts and Culture is really neat. I discovered this during the pandemic. I'm trying to think of folks that maybe are less ambulatory. It's a site where you can visit a lot of museums virtually. Not every museum offers this, but it's kind of a neat way to get inspired if you're unable to visit in person, for example. Because I find being immersed in things like that helps my creativity, gets me inspired.
"Another thing that it's kind of similar is this concept called 'forest bathing.' It's Japanese, and I won't even try to butcher the name [shinrin-yoku]. Forest bathing, all it is, is to try to get you to immerse yourself in all your senses whilst going into a forest. It sounds very basic. But again, it's to get in tune, it's somewhat the mindfulness. It's to get in tune with the sounds, if there are any in the forest, with the feels, with the smells, with everything. And again, it's to get you centered. And oftentimes people find being connected to nature is also a way that inspires their creativity.
And photography, lots of photography. My mom ended up being inspired by nature, and picked up photography after her Parkinson's diagnosis, and was really into that. So just an idea, there's always avenues. I feel like everybody has a creativity within themselves of some kind. The question is how is that gonna come out, and getting involved with groups is also another way. I find that with various support groups, Parkinson groups, can help too, because I think people like that are in the same boat as you are very often encouraging you to be involved, or to let your creativity flourish, and they're like, that's really good, you should continue on with that, you know."
Listen to more of Lianna's podcasts on Answers for Elders and visit Lianna's website.
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