For most of us, our survival instinct has led us to fear the unknown. This is understandable. We like to know our situations, and to feel somewhat in control of them.
And, truth be told, how many of us live our lives in such a way as to minimize this fear of the unknown by doing thing in the “tried and true,” traditional ways.
There is, of course, nothing wrong with living this way. Others prefer taking great risks, and live life “on the edge.” Unless such a person has dependents, there is nothing wrong with living a life of risks.
For the PKD patient, (as for everyone,) the future is indeed unknown. Yet the DEGREE OF FEAR of the future can be decreased by education. You may be in a stage of your disease that is a new experience for you. But it wouldn’t a new experience for someone who is ahead of you on the PKD Odyssey.
Even though each of us has his/her own “personal” PKD disease, the insights of an “experienced” patient can significantly reduce the fear of the unknown, because, as I like to put it, the fog that obscures the future clears up a bit with knowledge. You can, to some degree, mentally prepare yourself for “eventualities” by anticipating some of them.
You can certainly prepare questions that your medical team can (hopefully) provide, if not direct answers to, at least some guidelines as to what can be expected on your PKD Odyssey.
Make no mistake: PKD patients get sick! The degree of symptoms varies greatly. But it’s better not to be surprised when symptoms occur!
It’s better to say to yourself, “Ah! There’s the pain, or cramps, or nausea, or fatigue that I was told about!” instead of, “What the h*ll is this??”
When you are educated about PKD, you will “forewarned,” and therefore “forearmed!”
And one aspect of being forearmed is to accept the fact that you do have a disease, and are in fact diseased. This will prevent you from being in conflict with the Self who wants to live on as if nothing is wrong. You do not want this conflict. It takes too much psychic energy to be in conflict with a Self that no longer exists!
Now, when I say accept your disease, I do not mean be resigned to your situation! You can grow from your apparent “negative” situation!
Have patience! Learn. Grow. Make your PKD Odyssey an adventure!
Develop compassion for your Self and others!
Now, if you are still in a state of anger or confusion and don’t understand how your PKD Odyssey can be an adventure, or how you can go about removing the fear of the unknown,
please contact me at
And let’s talk about it!
I’ll show you how can look at your own situation in a way that will increase the level of “positive expectation” for your future! Your PKD Odyssey may not be a tough as you now think it will be!
Rome wasn’t built in a day. Building a new Self when you have PKD takes a bit of time as well!
So, “Keep On Truckin’ !”
And Be Patient!
Peace and Blessings!
Coach Richie Perl
