It’s Tremor Tidbit Tuesday, July 28, 2020. Note: This is not just about Parkinson’s. Do you feel incapable of pursuing your creative side?

Turning to creative pursuits, regardless of your disability, offers opportunities for the success and satisfaction pursuing those activities can bring.

Recently I read a post from a mother who was distraught over her young son’s struggles with Essential Tremors. The boy had gone to a friend’s birthday party and upon arriving found that it was a painting party. He had tried to paint the picture the way it was being done by everyone else, but his painting was different. He had come home in tears and asked, “Why did I have to get this horrible disability?”

You don’t have to be a parent to know what a heart-breaking feeling that would leave in you. The mother was searching for help.

Life is full of obstacles and limitations, roadblocks that sometimes seem insurmountable. These cause stress and anxiety which we know just makes tremors worse. Acceptance is the first step and know that you are not alone. Millions around the world have ET. Millions more are afflicted with some other type of disability.

Once you can accept your condition, you can move forward toward finding and enjoying new pursuits. Whatever your pursuit, choose to make your work your own. Embrace your difference.

Advice: Start where you are. Repeat.

These words are easy to put to paper. Having struggled with ET for years, I know this advice is easier said than done. I try to be creative, I try to cook, garden, do the ironing, nothing is easy. Keeping a positive attitude and eliminating the stress and anxiety are especially difficult. But, I won’t give up.