Sometimes I find myself feeling angry for no reason, just angry at the world. We’ve all heard the saying, “I got up on the wrong side of the bed”, somedays I think it might be that I got up on the wrong side of the world. I am grumpy and that is all there is to it.

Whenever that happens, I try to take a step outside of my current situation to look at what is happening and why. I do have the right to be upset about things we have to deal with thanks to my husband’s diagnosis, frustrated by some of the challenges it has brought to our lives. I do not have the right to take negative feelings out on him or other people around me. Feeling anger about his PD is going to happen, expressing that anger negatively is a self-defeating action because it only hurts me and the person I love the most, my husband.

I am learning to shirt circuit these moments by finding something to be thankful for that will allow me to react in a positive way. Stepping back, taking a deep breath, looking for the source of the emotion, all of these techniques allow me to regain control and realign my attitude. It is not his fault that he has Parkinson’s Disease and we are doing everything we can to minimize the symptoms. If I close my eyes and recapture the last positive thing we did, maybe a walk together or a shared touch, it helps me move past the current tension. I can let go of the anger and angst and instead hold tight to the good things that are happening regardless of his illness.