128. Why a Diagnosis Doesn't Need to Change Your Story with Candace Schoner128. Why a Diagnosis Doesn't Need to Change Your Story with Candace Schoner
Together S.O.B.E.R.
Louise Barnett and Candace Schoner talk about Parkinson's, mental health and sobriety, focusing on how repeated reinvention and practical tools help life feel meaningful after a diagnosis. The conversation highlights pivoting, boundaries and simple joys as ways to build resilience and happiness.
43:14•10 Aug 2026
Why Your Diagnosis Doesn't Get to Write Your Ending
Episode Overview
- A diagnosis can bring clarity and relief without dictating the rest of your story.
- Pivoting work and lifestyle to match your current abilities is a sign of wisdom, not failure.
- Combining medication, movement, therapy, brain exercises and creative outlets can stabilise symptoms and mood.
- Setting boundaries with negative people and energy drains is key to protecting mental health.
- Simple joys, pets, play and abandoning perfectionism help build everyday happiness alongside recovery.
“It's not about quitting or giving up. It's about recognizing your own limitations and it's okay to have limits.”
How do people find strength in their journey to sobriety and mental health? This conversation between Louise Barnett and guest Candace Schoner centres on that exact question, with a particular focus on what happens after a life-changing diagnosis. Candace, a former broadcast journalist and lifelong mental health advocate, talks honestly about living with Parkinson's disease alongside ADHD, PTSD and visual dyslexia.
She shares how computer work and blue light trigger symptoms, why medication routines are so challenging with ADHD, and how getting the diagnosis brought "the good, the bad, and the ugly" – relief that she "wasn't going crazy," but also the reality of a chronic condition.
Rather than giving up, Candace describes learning to pivot: limiting computer time, closing her marketing business without labelling herself a failure, and creating Voices for Mental Health and the "Recipes for a Happier Life, Apron Optional" book. She explains that therapy, writing, Rock Steady boxing, brain games and frequency-specific microcurrents all form part of her daily "recipe" for staying functional and hopeful. You’ll hear candid reflections on overachieving, redefining success, and letting go of relationships that drain your energy.
Candace and Louise swap experiences about pressure to appear "neurotypical", the emotional impact of new diagnoses, and the frustration of doing "all the right things" yet still facing setbacks. The chat keeps things grounded with humour and simple joys: frozen yoghurt, pets, ping pong and collage, and the shift from demanding perfection to "just enjoy the play." It’s a reassuring listen for anyone juggling mental health, chronic illness or sobriety who wonders if their story ends at a diagnosis.
Could it actually be the beginning of a different kind of happiness?
Do you want to link to this podcast?
Get the buttons here!
More From This Show
The latest episodes from the same podcast.