PD Revelation

[Updated: 8/7/20; 9/19/20; 10/9/20; 2/21/21 Expanded discussion to include Type III and Type IV PD; 9/15/21 Slightly revised comments concerning medication; 11/6/21 Added comment about “psychogenic condition”; 2/5/22 Added paragraph about the phase of recovery symptoms]

For your convenience and review, I offer here an extremely condensed thumbnail sketch of my understanding of the Janice Walton-Hadlock (JWH) approach to addressing PD. It is no substitute for reading JWH's books Recovery from Parkinson’s (2020) and Stuck on Pause (2022).

Note that the JWH treatment approach is fully appropriate for those who have not started on prescription PD medications. For those who have been on such medications (or mucuna) for more than a few weeks, however, it may carry excessive risks. Find information to help guide you on this issue in Recovery from Parkinson's (2020) and in Once Upon a Pill (2003).

As outlined in Recovery from Parkinson’s (2020), JWH learned that idiopathic PD is a psychogenic condition. She divides it into four categories, Type I through Type IV. About 95% of people with PD have Type I. About 90% have Type I and Type II. Type I is self-induced “pause.” This refers to having willed oneself, at an earlier time in life, into a kind of “near-death neurological mode of relative numbness,” (Recovery from Parkinson’s, 2020), the result of some emotional or physical trauma. Type II involves a subconscious dissociation from an injury, and is sometimes referred to as “pseudo” pause. Types III and IV are less common. Type III involves conscious, self-induced dissociation from an injury. Type IV is normal, biological pause resulting from a life-threatening injury. Any of the four types can lead a person to get stuck in its version of pause mode, setting in motion processes that lead eventually to PD. Both Recovery from Parkinson's and Stuck on Pause provide some self-diagnosis exercises you can try to help determine whether or not you are on pause.

If you have Type I, the treatment involves retraining your brain to come off pause. You do this by engendering in yourself a sense of safety via stimulating areas of the brain believed to be inhibited in people with PD, specifically the striatum and thalamus. This is accomplished, in the first of two primary exercises, by carrying on in your mind, as constantly as possible, a conversation, speaking from the heart, with an “invisible friend” you perceive as loving and knowing, who hears your every thought. This “other” could be your version of God, the universe, a deceased grandparent, etc. (It is important to pick an invisible friend who is consistently unconditionally loving, supportive, and nonjudgmental.) This communication is intended to replace the internal monologue more typical of people with PD, and is aimed at stimulating the striatum. (Search Recovery from Parkinson's, 2020 for “the new exercises.”) This exercise can be seen as a form of cognitive behavioral therapy. I believe it might also be viewed as a type of “spiritual meditation.”

Once that relationship feels real enough, the second exercise involves repeatedly asking the “other” to feel more physically present. This is intended to stimulate the thalamus. The exercises were inspired in large part by research evidence concerning how thinking about “God” in certain ways activates particular parts of the brain. See JWH's writings for the detail.

[Update – 10/9/20: The 2020 edition of Recovery form Parkinson's adds a third core exercise, involving visualizing energy flowing into the body at the back of the neck. It also adds four auxiliary exercises to hasten recovery and brings cognitive behavioral therapy (apart from the two primary exercises), which had been prominent in the 2013 edition, back into the mix as a supplementary tool.]

When Type I and Type II (or Type III, I believe) occur together, and the self-induced pause is properly addressed, the injury issues of Type II PD often resolve themselves. Otherwise, for Type II PD, the treatment includes primarily Yin Tui Na (a simple, hands on, supportive holding therapy). For Type IV, there is a simple five step sequence for turning off biological pause. For those with only type II PD, other therapies, such as Qi Gong and craniosacral therapy, can be helpful as well.

I leave it to the reader to explore in Recovery from Parkinson's and Stuck on Pause the further discussion of Type III and Type IV PD.

Importantly, JWH cautions that for those with the combination of Type I and Type II PD, the self-induced pause should be dealt with first to avoid possible troubling complications.

Once pause stays turned off in a lasting way (a process that may take some time) you enter a phase of temporary “recovery symptoms” as your body repairs the damage done by your time on pause. In character, these symptoms are often the opposite of Parkinson's symptoms (e.g., becoming limp rather than stiff). After this phase your recovery is complete.

Again, see the latest versions of JWH's books Recovery from Parkinson's and Stuck on Pause for the detail. What I provide above is not enough, in itself, to get you started. It lacks important detail and, in any event, comes with no claim of complete accuracy.

You need not be concerned, by the way, that this is all packaged as a DIY treatment. JWH makes the case that it actually works best that way!

Simple enough? Sure, but it's not without challenges. I expect to talk about those on this blog.

Update – 8/7/20: How long does it take to come off pause? A rough answer is days to years, depending in large part on how long you have been on pause.

Update – 9/19/20: Minor revisions made in accordance with the release of the 2020 version of Recovery from Parkinson's.