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Alan Alda is using humor, acceptance and persistence to cope with Parkinson’s disease. The actor, 90, has described laughter as a practical response to the condition’s physical frustrations and limitations.

Alda is best known for portraying Captain Benjamin Franklin “Hawkeye” Pierce in the CBS wartime sitcom “M*A*S*H.” He was diagnosed with the degenerative motor disease in 2015 and publicly disclosed the diagnosis in 2018.

The diagnosis followed Alda’s discovery that acting out dreams could be an early symptom of Parkinson’s. “I had a symptom, which at the time was not that well-known: Acting out your dreams,” he said during an Oct. 4 interview with CBS News.

Alda recalled dreaming that someone was attacking him and responding by throwing a sack of potatoes. In reality, he said, he was throwing a pillow at his wife, Arlene.

As he navigates the disease, Alda has turned humor into a coping method. He said “the best way to deal with anything that's a little bit of a problem is to find out what's funny about it and laugh at it.”

That approach extends to difficulties using a computer mouse while writing an email. Alda personifies the condition as “Dr. Parkinson,” imagining it moving his hand around the screen and deleting things as he tries to work.

“I don't let Parkinson's define me,” Alda said. He also joked that he regards the disease as “just a hobby,” rather than allowing it to become his entire identity.

Alda said he does not focus on wishing that the condition would disappear. “I really think reality is my friend,” he said. “I don't want to wish it away. I can't wish it away. I can't hope for a better future. I gotta accept what is.”

Everyday activities have nevertheless become more difficult, including buttoning his shirt and putting on socks. Alda said he approaches those challenges as puzzles, continually searching for another method when one attempt does not work.

“I do hate it, but the only thing that's helpful is: What haven't I tried? And pretty soon, you get the feeling, 'If I keep looking for new ways to try this, I'll get a solution.' It's a puzzle. Will I be able eventually to put my socks on? The last time I put my socks on was a tremendous moment to celebrate!”

Dr. Chadrick Lane, a neuropsychiatrist and director of the geriatric and neuropsychiatry clinic at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas, Texas, said humor can be a useful wellness tool during the Parkinson’s journey. Lane has not treated Alda.

“Humor involves cognitive reframing, this idea of looking at a circumstance through different angles — not necessarily changing the reality that one is in, but shifting the meaning and the emotional weight of the situation,” Lane told Fox News Digital.

Lane said creating some “psychological distance” from something frightening or distressing, including a medical diagnosis, can produce a “big, big change” in perspective. He also emphasized the role that shared humor can play in creating connection.

“Humor is often shared. It brings us together,” Lane said. “We are meant to share our lives with others. The importance of having a sense of belonging and humor can be a glue in that way, bringing us closer with others so that one does not go on the journey alone.”

Lane said he has seen humor and connection at work while caring for people living with Parkinson’s disease. “One of the wonderful things that I've seen in those settings is that, just like Mr. Alda, people crack a joke, [it] brings them a smile.”

The neuropsychiatrist called Alda’s acceptance of his condition “enormously empowering.” He said people rarely control an entire day or life, but they often retain control over the choices they make in a particular moment.