Neurology
By living mindfully, Deirdre Barnard-Visser aims to find joy again. It was on New Year’s Eve that Karen Thompson, Deirdre’s daughter, got everyone fired up by making ‘mood boards’ to portray their New Year’s resolutions.
‘When I finished, I noticed I repeated two words, “bounce back”, and realised this is what this year should be about. I want to get my old self back.
‘When my father died in 2001, I went through a bad patch. I know – and was told this – that I’m addicted to fixing other people. For years I was the buffer between my mother and father, and between my father and my brother, Andre, who was a year younger than me and was destroyed by the divorce. He died at the age of 31.
‘Now it is time to look out for myself. So I made a few rules:
‘I don’t go to crowded places any more. If I need to go to a mall, I do it early in the morning or on a Sunday.
‘I make a point of not isolating myself. I spend as much time as I can with my grandsons and helping my daughter with them. If I feel lonely – and there are days that I feel very alone, my family have their own problems – I phone a friend.
‘I enjoy my morning walks every other day with a friend, and am even looking into bringing Parkinson’s Boot Camp, an American initiative, to South Africa.
‘What helps immensely is to have a doctor who has time to listen and is aware of all the other doctors I consult and what medication I’m taking. My psychiatrist fulfils that role.
‘Lastly I find that regular cranial sacral therapy gives me time to switch off, to be in the moment, to find relief from anxiety.
‘In the end I think the word I’m looking for is “mindfully”. My wish this year is to live mindfully with Parkinson’s. And by doing that I will find joy again.’