By Julia Burks & Maureen Gartner, CNP
Many of you reading this may have experienced apathy while dealing with Parkinson’s Disease. It is the most difficult non motor symptom to deal with whether you are a provider, a person with PD or a care partner of PD. Understanding apathy and finding ways to cope with it will be helpful to maintaining a good quality of life on the journey of PD. This article is going to take a look at tips on how to deal with apathy.
First, let's explore what apathy is exactly. “Apathy is defined as a feeling of indifference or a general lack of interest or motivation in activities.” (2) It is a non-motor symptom of Parkinson’s and it can impact how one manages their PD symptoms. As some of us might know, apathy makes it hard for us to be motivated to exercise or maintain good habits to effectively manage Parkinson’s disease. It is hard to lose interest in the things we once loved to do.
However there are things we can do to help fight back against apathy. First, if you are concerned about apathy, we encourage you to talk to your doctor to see if these tips are correct for you.
Exercise
As always, we encourage PWP to exercise and exercise can help with symptoms of apathy. “It sounds counterintuitive, but exercise is actually helpful for apathy.” (3) Of course, please don’t push yourself but try to do something active every day. It can even just be floor stretches or a quick walk. Maybe sign up for a fitness class to help hold yourself accountable. (3) To see local workout classes for PWP, click here. Feel free to get creative! Gardening, dancing or any kind of movement is helpful! (4)
Setting a Routine and Realistic Goals
Try your best to maintain a regular sleep schedule. (3) Set alarms on your phone to remind you when to start winding down for bed. “Go to bed and get out of bed at the same time each day.” (3) Also, maintaining personal goals is important. Don’t go too big. Set small goals that you feel confident over. “Focus on one task, or part of one task. Success can help lead you on to the next step.” (4) Reach that goal for a while and then create a little bit bigger goal to add to your routine.
Setting a schedule can also help for physical and cognitive activities. (3) Scheduling even chores can help! Creating a schedule or goals for leisure activities is also a good idea, such as trying a new restaurant with a loved one or doing a hobby you enjoy. Try to schedule activities outside the home. Also when you accomplish a task, give yourself a little reward. Overall, just be realistic about your goals. (4)
Socialize
Staying social is a huge factor to overcoming apathy. Call one friend once/week, someone you haven’t talked to in a while. You may be surprised how enjoyable it is to catch up with an old friend. By the same token, consider making a new friend by joining a support group or an exercise class. New friendships can be fostered in these types of settings.
Consider calling on friends who have offered to help you. Maybe there is a chore you can’t accomplish by yourself. It is important to your friends to be able to help someone they love.
As a care provider, Maureen Gartner, NP says this: Apathy is the hardest symptom to deal with. I cannot give a pill or recommend a research trial to help a person with PD overcome this. A big part of dealing with apathy has to come from the person themselves. It’s almost like “put the big panties on and get with the program.” It has to come from within a person to stay motivated and live life to the fullest. Care partners can be helpful, but they can’t do it if the person they care for doesn’t want to continue living a full life.
Dealing with Apathy as a Care Partner
Dealing with apathy personally is extremely difficult but watching a loved one experience it is hard as well. Caregivers who care for a loved one with apathy might be more involved in their partner’s care due to it. “Remember that apathy is a symptom of the disease and the person with PD is not necessarily being lazy or making excuses." (4) This is not their personality.
Having a team approach if possible is good, as the caregiver can’t take this on all by themselves. It is ok to ask family and friends for help. Have them over to join in on activities with your loved one and to help maintain social relationships.
If someone's apathy is severe, one should contact their medical provider for help and resources. Depression can be a part of apathy and exploring anti-depressants could be conversation to have with your or your loved one’s doctor.
If you are a caregiver and need additional support, please visit our support group page to find caregiver support groups.
More facts about Apathy
Apathy affects up to 40% of people with PD. It “is likely due, at least in part, to lack of the neurotransmitter (brain chemical) dopamine.” Medications options to treat this symptom are limited. However, speak to your doctor on seeing if increasing your dopamine replacement therapy would be helpful. Each case will vary. “All medications work best in conjunction with the above behavioral adjustments.”(3)
Dealing with apathy is hard but there is hope. Talk to your doctor for help, try these tips above and reach out to loved ones to have support.
Want to explore Apathy further? This site lists a lot of great articles that explore this topic.