Parkinson's disease is an incurable neurological disease that affects approximately 3% of the elderly population. Classified as a movement disorder, it often causes tremors, joint stiffness and even difficulty speaking. The disease is progressive, meaning it gets worse or causes more damage over time. Although the most common and recognized symptoms are physical (tremors), the disease can also cause a variety of mental or cognitive effects. Dementia, a broad term defined as a loss of mental capacity beyond that due to normal aging, is extremely common among patients with Parkinson's disease. Depression is also quite common among sufferers. In the article by Williamson, Simpson and Murray, they argue that the progressive nature of Parkinson's disease is linked to an increased need for treatment (unlike patients of other diseases). The article focuses specifically on the stress and burdens placed on healthcare workers themselves, who, in this article, are all patients' spouses. Interestingly, the article focuses more on the "psychotic symptoms" of the disease, rather than tremors and other physical symptoms. The authors of this article conducted a study by interviewing (in depth) 10 caregivers who were all wives of Parkinson's patients. The only flaw I see in this type of study is the extremely small sample size. It's difficult to make generalizations about an entire group from studying just 10 people. However, the study is for a very small specific group, so I think it works. One experience that many caregivers had in common was confusion when psychosis began to develop. Many of these healthcare providers were simply unaware that this was a possible symptom of Parkinson's disease... half of the paper... mptoms provides relief. This “it could be worse” attitude is often a helpful mindset for caregivers. Overall, most caregivers preferred to approach the situation by remaining optimistic. Since the reality of the situation cannot be changed, the only way to deal with the psychotic symptoms of Parkinson's is to understand them and deal with them day by day. One option available to healthcare workers is support groups. I find that tackling a problem alone is much more difficult than tackling it with others. By talking to others who are experiencing the same difficulties, caregivers can share coping techniques and relieve some of the burden. Works Cited Williamson, C, and J. Simpson, and C. Murray. (2008). Caregivers' experiences of caring for a husband with Parkinson's disease and psychotic symptoms. Social sciences and medicine, 67 (4), pp. 583-589.