What is Parkinson's?

Parkinson's is a progressive neurological condition.
People with Parkinson's don't have enough of a chemical called dopamine because some nerve cells in their brain have died.

"Once I accepted myself as a person with Parkinson's, and did not think of myself as a lesser person because of this, other people did the same. It is not the most important thing about me".

Caroline, diagnosed in 2003

Without dopamine people can find that their movements become slower so it takes longer to do things.
The loss of nerve cells in the brain causes the symptoms of Parkinson's to appear.
There's currently no cure for Parkinson's and we don't yet know why people get the condition.
Parkinson's doesn't directly cause people to die, but symptoms do get worse over time.

How many people have Parkinson's?

One person in every 500 has Parkinson's. That's about 127,000 people in the UK.
Most people who get Parkinson's are aged 50 or over but younger people can get it too.

Parkinson's symptoms

Everyone with Parkinson's has different symptoms.
The main symptoms of Parkinson's are tremor, rigidity and slowness of movement.
As well as affecting movement, people with Parkinson's can find that other issues, such as tiredness, pain, depression and constipation, can have an impact on their day-to-day lives.
Symptoms and the speed at which the condition develops will differ from one person to the next.
The symptoms can be controlled using a combination of drugs, therapies and occasionally surgery.
Find out more about all Parkinson's symptoms.
As Parkinson's progresses, an increased amount of care and support may be required, although many people maintain a good quality of life with limited care or treatment.

Parkinson's diagnosis

"The Parkinson's nurse was immensely helpful – coming to my house when I was newly diagnosed and explaining Parkinson's to me so well".

Diana, diagnosed in 2004

It's not easy to diagnose Parkinson's. There are no laboratory tests so it's important that the diagnosis is made by a specialist.
The specialist will examine the person for any physical signs of Parkinson's and take a detailed history of the symptoms they're experiencing.
Find out more in our Diagnosing Parkinson's information sheet.
There are guidelines for the diagnosis of Parkinson's which health professionals should follow:

• NICE Guideline (England, Wales, Northern Ireland)
• SIGN (Scottish Intercollegiate Guidelines Network) Guideline

Source: https://www.parkinsons.org.uk/content/what-parkinsons

A ‘Hand-up, not a Hand-out’

ABF The Soldiers’ Charity is the National Charity of the British Army, offering a lifetime of support to soldiers, veterans and their immediate families when in need. Our priorities are to help these individuals by making grants to them through the Regimental and Corps Associations, and to support a wide range of specialist charities that sustain the British Army ‘family’, both at home and around the world.
Our mantra is that we provide “A hand up, not a hand out”. Whilst this term has become somewhat clichéd, none is more apt than President John F Kennedy’s use of the term (in 1961),  defining it as “doing something towards becoming self-sustaining” – this is exactly how we see it today.
Each year, on our collective behalf, we provide grants, funding and practical support to up to 100 third-sector organisations.

Some of the areas in which we help

Army Family

We are committed to supporting soldiers, veterans and their immediate families in times of need. This can include emergency flights across the globe following the death of a close family member in complex circumstances, to providing respite breaks for a young serving family dealing with the traumatic changes caused by an injury sustained on operations, or helping to buy highly-specialised equipment for a disabled child returning home following a stay in hospital.

Education and Training

Leaving the Army after injury can be a daunting experience. Subject to need, our grants have helped to provide equipment, courses and travel costs for those discharged from the Army on medical grounds and now looking for a new career path. This retraining covers practical courses like HGV licences, or vocational training like nursing.

Elderly Care

Maintaining dignity and independence for our veterans and their immediate families in need remains one of the most significant areas of our work. Recent grants have enabled an elderly veteran to remain in their own home with the aid of a stair lift, and another was able to maintain their independence thanks to a bathroom adaptation.  Other grants might include boiler repairs or care-home fees. Often speed is of the essence in providing such support.

Housing

The housing needs for veterans are incredibly varied. Our grants may help a homeless veteran who has no support network outside the Army to be able to move into a new property, or ensure that a young soldier on being made redundant has a house that is fit for his family to live in by providing carpets and essential furnishings, or to prevent eviction for a veteran who has fallen into rent arrears following a period of unemployment.

Mobility

Our mobility grants range from those for the very young to the elderly. We have provided grants for specialist play equipment for disabled children, and for electric mobility vehicles and specialist wheelchairs, particularly for the wounded injured and sick allowing participation in an array of sports.

Well-being

We have provided support to those with a variety of mental health issues. This has included the provision of counselling for a family dealing with bereavement or attendance on specialist courses to assist in building self-confidence and reducing anxiety.  We have also provided respite breaks for those dealing with the effects of mental health issues, so families can come together in a new environment.

Employment

Finding civilian employment on discharge from the Army can be difficult enough, without adding the extra challenge of an injury or illness.   With this in mind our charity has provided more than £1.8m over the last 3 years to fund Specialist Employment Consultants based throughout the country at the Army Personal Recovery Units.   The enormous success of this project, delivering successful outcomes for those being medically discharged has now ensured that these posts are funded by the MOD.
That said, our charity continues to proactively engage in employment related projects via our network of reliable partners who can effectively deliver successful outcomes for our beneficiaries by assisting and finding employment opportunities.   As an extension of our previous work with the RFEA and the SEC model, our Charity are now working with them to provide specialist vocational case-working help to Wounded Injured and Sick Veterans rather than those currently in transition.   This project will assist those WIS veterans who, through no fault of their own, now face substantial obstacles to employment and are no longer eligible for Career Transition Partnership resettlement package.

Source: https://www.soldierscharity.org/need-our-help/how-we-help/?gclid=CMKhkdDZl9ICFUkQ0wodEqkG9A#

Anxiety and depression twice as prevalent in military - study says

Members of the UK armed forces are twice as likely to develop depression or anxiety than members of the general working population, a study suggests.

The King's College London research compared surveys from 7,000 military personnel with people in other jobs.
It found 18% of men and 25% of women in the forces reported symptoms of common mental disorders, compared with 8% of men and 12% of women in other areas.
The MoD said it had improved mental health services for the military.
The researchers said the study, published in Psychological Medicine, was fairer then previous studies which included results from unemployed people and those with long-term health problems and disabilities - who researchers said were more likely to report symptoms of mental illness.
The findings could be explained by the frequency and intensity of stressful events experienced by those in the military, researchers said.
Military life also required extended periods spent away from family and friends, they added.
The survey included questions such as whether the subject felt they were "playing a useful part in things".
Respondents from the military were almost three times more likely to disagree with this statement than those from the general population, the study found.

Treatment needed

Lead author Dr Laura Goodwin said: "The findings were not what we expected. We didn't think there would be such a difference between members of the military and the rest of the general population.
"We know that other studies which recruit people just because they are in a particular occupation, such as teaching or social work, also find higher reports of anxiety and depression."
Prof Nicola Fear, from the King's Centre for Military Health Research, said: "This [report] highlights that symptoms of depression and anxiety are common in the armed forces. In fact, they are more common than alcohol misuse or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
"The findings draw attention to the need for Defence Medical Services to continue to focus on identifying and treating depression and anxiety in addition to PTSD."
Elsewhere, mental health charity, Combat Stress, said there had been a significant increase in the number of UK veterans of the Afghanistan conflict seeking help. It said it had received 358 new veteran referrals in 2013, a 57% rise on 2012.

'Support available'

The Ministry of Defence said it took the the mental health and wellbeing of personnel very seriously.
A spokeswoman said: "The government has long recognised that service life can cause stress.
"Since 2008, the last data used in this study, the MoD has made a number of improvements to the mental health services available to the armed forces.
"These include pre and post-operational stress management briefings, decompression, Trauma Risk Management, and the Big White Wall online wellbeing service.
"In addition, the MoD has introduced several anti-stigma campaigns to encourage serving personnel who need help to come forward to access the wide range of support that is available."

Source:  https://www.blogger.com/blogger.g?blogID=4592506238738253894#editor/target=post;postID=1213585181303181409