We hear a lot about how our partners with PD can be affected by mental health issues and, I know that in our case, my husband’s doctors check in with him regularly to make sure he feels okay. My question is, since we are on this stressful and progressive journey together, does anyone care about my mental health? 

Several studies have been done in recent years that tell us what we as CarePartners already knew, as this disease progresses our workload increases and we become more stressed, anxious and depressed. According to Healthline.com, “about 40-70% of general caregivers experience significant stress. Half of these caretakers also meet the official criteria for depression.” This quote refers to general caregivers with training, how can we not feel the stress and loss at even higher levels as we work with our loved ones?

What I have realized is that the doctors are always going to look to my husband first, as they should. Then, I will need to speak up and tell them what I am feeling. For once I will be advocating for husband by advocating for myself so we can both maintain a healthy and positive attitude in this fight against PD.

To learn more about caring for your own mental health visit The Challenge of Being a Parkinson’s Caregiver and How to Manage on the Healthline website.