Thriving with diabetes: Yes, you can do it! 

Welcome to our designated section to empower you to live a full and vibrant life with diabetes! Diabetes is not supposed to be a burden, it is part of our lives, that is why we need to learn how to embrace it and thrive with it! Whether you have diabetes, know someone with diabetes, or are just curious, this page will give you some tips on how to live a healthy life with diabetes. 

Embracing your journey: Acceptance and empowerment

Accepting a diabetes diagnosis is often the first step towards effective management and a healthier life. Usually, after being diagnosed with diabetes the body  psychologically goes into a defensive mode, this defensive mode is denial. Denial is nothing more than fear, anxiety and shame acting together as a shield to protect your mind from the new overwhelming reality, a huge lifestyle change. Diabetes is not only about the diagnosis, it is about adapting to the new challenges placed upon you, from day one people living with the condition have to take on an unimaginable responsibility, every decision matters. To overcome denial you need to shift your mindset from “Why did this happen to me?” to “This happened to me, I will get through it”. It is not an easy shift, acceptance takes time, acceptance takes support, but being different does not mean that you are alone. When trying to overcome denial, find someone that will help you embrace your reality, and overcome the challenges, because there is no “perfect” journey when navigating a diabetes diagnosis. The process will have its ups and downs, and the ultimate goal is not to have a perfect life, it is to live your life normally. The goal is to live at peace with your diabetes in a way that it will not take away your hope, your dreams, and your happiness. 

Crafting your routine: Integrating diabetes into daily life

Diabetes management does not have to disrupt your entire life, building healthy habits and routine can significantly improve your life quality. Building healthy habits is not as difficult as it sounds, sometimes when thinking of the word healthy most people associate it with boring, however, a healthy lifestyle for diabetes management means a lifestyle that you can normally live your life. Diabetes will be with you forever, so a healthy lifestyle needs to include a balance between:

 

  • Eating right but also enjoying yourself
  • Exercising but also taking breaks
  • Resting but also working hard. 

 

One way of getting used to the lifestyle is through automation, having a regular routine where everything is usually the same significantly helps with the daily decision making. Living an 80-20 life, where 80% of your time you are eating well, exercising, and being mindful will allow you to enjoy the other 20% guilt free. In addition, something that helps with enjoying the 20% even more is pre-planning. Pre-planning is the concept of thinking about what you might eat before you actually eat it, so when you get to the place, you already know what to expect. Pre-planning is not as hard as it sounds, for instance if you are insulin dependent and going to a pizza place, try searching up the carbohydrates in a pizza slice and have a pre-planned insulin dose before going to the place, allowing you to live the moment instead of having to stop and think about carbohydrate to insulin ratios.

Overall, having diabetes does not mean that it has to control your life, it should just be added to it and never be something that stops you from living your best life! 

 

Why seek psychological support? 

After being diagnosed with diabetes the mind might feel all over the place, new responsibilities are placed upon you and a new lifestyle needs to be followed. These changes may be hard on the body but they are also extremely hard on the mind. Diabetic distress is the name given to the overwhelming emotional and mental burden of living with diabetes. This burden consists of the daily self-care demands such as checking glucose, counting carbohydrates and managing insulin dosages, causing frustration, worry and burnout. According to the American Diabetes Association diabetic distress affects over 40-50% of individuals living with the condition, highlighting the high frequency that this happens to diagnosed individuals. These feelings associated with diabetic distress such as intense stress and frustration also affect blood sugar. The body enters fight-or-flight mode releasing cortisol and adrenaline, which signal the liver to release stored glucose, causing an increase in blood sugar. Hence, part of thriving with diabetes is giving your mental health the attention it needs. Talking to a professional or a person of trust are ways of relieving diabetic distress and ultimately helping with the control of your blood sugars. Psychological support ranges further than just overcoming stress and frustration, it also helps you to live a more enjoyable life and thrive with managing the obstacles that come with the diabetes diagnosis. 

High-tech management options: The CGM

Living with diabetes can be hard, however, recent inventions such as the continuous glucose monitor (CGM) devices are designed to make the life of those living with the condition more enjoyable and simple. The CGM devices are wearable devices that track your blood sugar in real time, eliminating the constant need to check your blood sugar via finger pricks. Other than the convenience, most CGM devices offer alarms that beep when the glucose is too high or low, alerting the user in real time and offering trends for the prevention of hypos and hypers. Most CGM devices also offer a sharing option where the individual can share their data with family and friends, allowing them to help with the continuous monitoring and call for help in case of emergencies. CGMs have truly revolutionized diabetes management offering a convenient, stable, and a sharable way of managing your glucose.  

Sources: 

Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), World Health Organization (WHO), National Institutes of Health, National Library of Medicine,  American Diabetes Association (ADA)

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