My husband was in denial for a long time. Not seriously, but he kept thinking and hoping that maybe the diagnosis was wrong. Problem with that was that he had so many of the most common symptoms. He was officially diagnosed over the phone in 2020. I had suggested to his GP that Jim had PD and it took about 6 months for him to agree and refer Jim to a neurologist. Then came Covid, so it wasn't until his 3rd appointment with the neurologist that he had hands on testing of strength and balance rather than just discussion of his symptoms and response to carbidopa. Ultimately, his desire to deny what was going on didn't make a difference. He took his meds and did his best to continue to walk every day. The fact that he did improve with medication made it harder to refuse the diagnosis.