Telling other people about your Parkinson's
How did you break the news about your Parkinson's to other people? We asked our online community what was right for them.
I started telling people soon after my diagnosis - you can only disguise a tremor for so long. My thought process is that telling people raises awareness. Some ask more questions, which turns into education.
I’ve only told people very close to me. It’s still early stages so it’s not very obvious. I’ll deal with it when I have to.
The stress of not telling people, and trying to hide my diagnosis, made my symptoms worse. I found that most people had noticed and just didn’t know how to ask, so now they know the truth it’s easier for everyone.
I told everyone - my friends, family and table tennis colleagues. I named my hand tremor Cecil so I could blame him when I couldn’t type things into my satnav or iPad.
We had to sit our 4 children down and explain to them - the youngest was 2 1/2. Then we got the rest of the family round and told them together, so that we didn’t have to keep repeating ourselves and get upset each time.
I’ve got a letter from my neurologist in my wallet and tell people to read it, instead of having to repeat the same story over and over again.
I just told family and close friends a few days after diagnosis. Then I made a post to my 500 friends on social media. It was a one-time announcement, after which I never mentioned Parkinson’s again
My partner has a bit of a problem telling people, but he is happy for me to say. Once people know he is quite happy about it.
I don’t think my husband has told anyone yet. I just tell people straight, and people can come to me if they have questions.
I just tell anyone and everyone. Personally it feels better to talk about it, rather than leave people wondering and avoiding talking to me. It’s helped open doors to support too.
Read more from people like you
Thank you to everyone in the Parkinson’s UK communities who shared their stories. Read even more tips and stories from people who really understand Parkinson’s at: