When in trouble one of the smartest things anyone can do is to tap into a social support system for help. No one person can do it all-especially when that person has Parkinson's disease. Most people with PD find that they benefit tremendously from the help they receive from a small group of reliable individuals.
One of the first things you should do when you are diagnosed with PD is to ask for help from a trusted group of relatives and friends. Your wider social support network should include your medical care team, your mental health counselor, members of the clergy, a financial adviser and others. Sources of help might come from parents, spouses, adult children, friends, colleagues from work, professionals, and God). Some of the individuals in your support network can give you professional advice for example on medical and financial issues. Others can build you up with emotional or spiritual support and yet others can direct you to resources and help that you did not know existed. The best way to create a social support network is to build on your existing network of close friends and loved ones and then add to it as needed. To add to your network of support ask the individual explicitly for help. Honesty about your condition is usually the best policy.
Source:
Skinner, E. A., Edge, K., Altman, J., & Sherwood, H. (2003). Searching for the structure of coping: A review and critique of category systems for classifying ways of coping. Psychological Bulletin, 129, 216–269.
