Dr. Bradley McDaniels of the University of North Texas joins Angela and Karl Robb for a lively conversation about quality of life issues with Parkinson’s disease. Dr. McDaniels shares some of his exciting research and the many complexities that come with a Parkinson’s disease diagnosis.
Coping, fear, social roles, and finding purpose, are just a few of the many topics that Karl and Angela Robb’s guest, Dr. Bradley McDaniels shares with us. We are very enthused by this talk and think you will be too!
Quality of Life and Purpose
Get ready for a talk with a doctor from the University of North Texas, that you are sure to find both compelling and caring. Here is a researcher on Parkinson’s that you will find exciting, uplifting, hopeful! Our community is fortunate as Dr. McDaniels doggedly seeks to unravel many of the psychological mysteries of Parkinson’s disease. When Bradley McDaniels’ mother got the diagnosis of Parkinson’s disease, already in his thirties, Brad went back to school to become a doctor. Learn more about Dr. Bradley McDaniels and his amazing story and a lot more.
Brad’s research into Quality of Life Issues and power of purpose raise the importance of these two factors into living well with Parkinson’s disease and any type of chronic condition.
A Carepartner’s Perspective
From Angela: As a carepartner, I appreciated Brad’s making time to include carepartner mental health concerns into this conversation. Initially starting as a conversation about quality of life issues and Parkinson’s disease; anyone can find gems about living well – with or without a chronic condition. The topics Brad touches on regarding finding purpose, importance of social groups, and caring for ourselves really do apply to all of us! The power of purpose is something I personally believe can help anyone coping with any type of challenge: physical, emotional, or mental. This conversation is not a scientific conversation but one based on how we can embrace life and find tools that we can all embrace to live well.
Links to Mentions from Conversation:
Karl’s post about the Netflix documentary: Stutz https://karlrobb.com/2022/11/22/jonah-hills-movie-stutz-is-a-must-see/
Hidden Brain w/ Kennon Sheldon: https://hiddenbrain.org/podcast/what-do-you-want-to-be/
Alan Watts – https://youtu.be/_h-FswIACKE
Topics and Time Stamps
14:30 Disclosure of diagnosis
15:45 Coping: Adaptive vs Maladaptive
18:00 Fear and Social Roles
22:15 Acceptance of the Condition and Opportunities
23:45 Finding Purpose
26:45 Psychological Flexibility and Resilience
28:45 Importance of Social Support
34:00 Importance of Laughter
35:20 Jim Valvano’s messages – 1993 ESPY speech https://youtu.be/HuoVM9nm42E
36:45 Vulnerability
38:00 Quality of Life (QoL) and Spirituality, Meaning in Life and Purpose
42:45 Meaning in Life Can be Taught
47:30 Disclosure of Diagnosis
54:00 Conclusion
