Beyond Tremors: The Emotional Challenges of Parkinson's Disease

An AI-Integrated Emotional Wellness Approach to Coping with Parkinson’s Disease

By Mark D. Lerner, Ph.D.

Chairman, The National Center for Emotional Wellness

Principal Consultant and Creator, AI-Integrated Emotional Wellness

Parkinson’s disease is often described as a "movement disorder," characterized by:

• tremors,

• bradykinesia (slowed movement),

• rigidity,

• instability,

• facial masking (evidenced in the attached photo),

• changes in handwriting, and speech.

It's a disorder associated with the neurotransmitter dopamine, which impacts far more than movement. Dopamine plays a critical role in regulating our thoughts and feelings.

While the cognitive changes associated with Parkinson’s disease—such as:

• difficulty with planning,

• multitasking,

• problem-solving,

• word-finding,

• attention,

• focusing,

• memory,

• slowed thinking, and

• obsessive and compulsive thoughts

are widely recognized, the emotional experience associated with Parkinson’s disease remains under-acknowledged, frequently misunderstood, and undertreated.

For many people—including myself—the deepest suffering began long before the tremors and will likely continue well beyond them—the emotional challenges of Parkinson's:

• Anxiety,

• fear,

• grief,

• apathy,

• depression,

• hopelessness,

• emptiness,

• rumination,

• irritability,

• crying,

• shame,

• isolation,

• sleep disturbance,

• embarrassment, and

the uncertainty of not knowing how they'll feel from one moment to the next—let alone in the future—can be as disabling, or more disabling, than the motor symptoms.

People living with Parkinson’s disease may find themselves subtly—or overtly—shunned and disrespected by family members and friends who fail to recognize the profound cognitive and emotional challenges associated with the disease. Because these symptoms are largely invisible—unlike tremors or instability—they're frequently minimized, misunderstood, or dismissed, compounding an already isolating and painful experience.

Sinemet remains the gold-standard treatment for Parkinson’s disease and has become my “best friend.” Within the Parkinson’s community, we often describe being “on” when the medication is helping us to feel "next to normal"—and “off” when it wanes. These on and off words have become common language in my home and have led me to describe Parkinson’s disease as a psychological "head game"—like riding a rollercoaster with dramatically shifting thoughts and feelings—at any time.

To address the emotional challenges of Parkinson’s disease, Artificial Intelligence (AI) can provide accessible evidence-based strategies and tools to help us cope. AI-Integrated Emotional Wellness (AIEW) goes further—by recognizing the irreplaceable need for the presence of mental health professionals, friends, and loved ones—people.

Below are five strategies I’ve previously written about that elucidate how AIEW can be invaluable while recognizing the irreplaceable role of human presence.

1. Maintain a Healthy Lifestyle

There’s a well-known connection between our mind and body—our emotional and physical well-being. In Parkinson’s disease, exercise, sleep, nutrition, and routines directly influence dopamine regulation and emotional stability—our feelings.

AI-supported strategies can help us track our activity, sleep, and nutrition—but sustained behavioral change is reinforced by compassion, encouragement, and accountability through genuine human connections.

AI can’t:

•  Look at you with eyes filled with compassion.

•  Hold your hand as your eyes pool with tears.

•  Embrace you while you’re crying.

•  Convey warmth through presence—without saying a word.

•  Sit beside you and softly say, “I’m here for you.”

Only human presence can offer authentic, face-to-face interpersonal communication—and the depth and healing potential of the human experience.

2. Practice Mindfulness and Journaling

Mindfulness practices—guided breathing techniques and grounding exercises (i.e., what you see, hear, feel, smell, and touch)—have been shown to mitigate overwhelming emotions associated with Parkinson’s disease. I should mention that for many of us, our sense of smell has diminished. Similarly, journaling can offer an opportunity to gain a greater awareness of our rapidly changing feelings.

AI can provide accessible, immediately available strategies—but it will never replicate the presence of people.

3. Seek Social Support

Chatbots and virtual mental health platforms can serve as an adjunct to mental health intervention by offering accessible support—particularly during moments of acute emotional distress or when professional mental health services are unavailable. These tools can help to ground us by normalizing and validating our feelings and by providing evidence-based coping strategies.

However, being seen, heard, and understood by another person remains irreplaceable. Support groups, trusted family members, friends, and mental-health professionals provide a level of empathy, validation, and meaning that technology can’t authentically reproduce.

4. Address Negative Thought Patterns

Depression is very common among people living with Parkinson’s disease and is often fueled by maladaptive thoughts, including magnification, overgeneralization, distortion, and absolute thinking. These patterns were described by psychiatrist Aaron T. Beck, M.D., in his cognitive theory of depression.

Beyond a client-centered, humanistic approach that empowers people to grow through a nonjudgmental, empathic relationship, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is among the most empirically supported treatments for depression and anxiety and, in many studies, demonstrates outcomes comparable to or exceeding medication alone.

AI can reinforce CBT principles by identifying unhealthy thoughts and providing coping skills. However, lasting change again comes from trusted human relationships. Depression thrives in isolation. Communicating with others is one of the best antidotes.

5. Re-Engage in Meaningful Activities

Parkinson’s disease can compromise our motivation and contribute to feelings of apathy. AI can prompt re-engagement in activities that restore meaning and emotional vitality—walking, exercising, sports, listening to music, digital photography, art, nature, bird-watching, etc. For me, sublimating my experience with Parkinson's disease by writing—particularly exploring the potential of AI-Integrated Emotional Wellness in our increasingly technological world—has become a powerful source of meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in my life.

We must never forget that AI is an adjunct—not a substitute—for professional mental health care—and the healing power of genuine human presence.

In closing, and on a personal note, on behalf of myself and others who have been diagnosed with Parkinson's disease and share our reality with others, we don’t wish to hear comparisons or stories about others with Parkinson’s. This disease is not a template—it manifests differently in every life it touches—particularly its emotional impact.

What we need most is simply to be heard—not lectured—and to have our experience recognized and acknowledged for what it truly is—a deeply personal and isolating emotional struggle that extends far beyond tremors.

“Parkinson’s disease will not define me.

How I respond to it will.

I will give voice to its unspoken

emotional challenges.”

—Mark D. Lerner, Ph.D.

AI-Integrated Emotional Wellness Consulting