Tag Archives: purpose

What my diabetes has taught me about life’s rough patches

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There will be good days and there will be bad days. It’s inevitable. And it’s okay. The bad days are what help you appreciate the good ones.

Tomorrow is a new day. Each day is an opportunity to start over, to begin fresh. Yes, it may not be any better than the day before, but the positive potential is there. A day of bad blood sugars today doesn’t mean tomorrow will be bad too.

Some things are just out of your control. I can’t account for every high and low blood sugar, I can do everything “right” and it still in unpredictable. Same with life’s events. Some things you can’t control, but what you can control is your response and how you cope with it.

To feel better often takes effort. I’ve gone through burn out with my diabetes, where I just wanted to ignore it. To stop carb counting, bolusing, monitoring what I’m eating, stop thinking and just live. But you can’t, because you end up feeling worse. Rough patches will pass with time, but you don’t want to be stuck in a downward spiral of self-wallowing and unhealthy behaviors. Reaching out to others, getting enough sleep, getting out of the house and not eating only junk foods can help keep you from sinking further into despair.

Some things in life aren’t fair. They’re just not. And they suck. You can get angry or sad or frustrated. But at some point you have to accept it and move on the best you can. It’s not fair that I have an expensive, complicated, incurable chronic disease, but I do and life goes on.

People won’t always understand what you’re going through or know how to help.  Some people will try to help and be there for you, some people will say things that make you mad, some people will be ignorant. But most people have good intentions. If you need support, you can’t assume people know what to do or say. You need to be explicit.

There’s no quick fix. It takes time. It takes effort. It’s a life long process. Every single day with type 1 diabetes requires vigilance and care. There will continually be challenges and low points in life and while you can learn positive ways to cope, to be resilient, you can’t just snap your fingers and instantly feel better.

Your feelings are valid. We all have different responses to life’s events. Your response may be different than someone going through the same thing, but what you’re feeling is completely acceptable and normal. Own your experiences and your emotions and use them to fuel positive action.

You’ll get through this. You’re strong. You’ve made it through life’s challenges before. Yea, it may have been hard, you may have struggled and even failed. You may have needed help. There may have been tears. But you persevered. And you’ll get through this too.

 

Diabetes Social Media Burnout Day

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Burnout. I’ve been there. In fact I just returned from about a two month hiatus from blogging. But my burnout was more self-imposed, independent from the happenings of the DOC. I’ve been fortunate that I haven’t encountered any hurtful, argumentative, or mean comments directed at me or what I wrote. That doesn’t mean they don’t exist in the DOC, but I’ve never felt personally attacked. But I’m sure that has to do with my own level of involvement. The more you put yourself out there, the more you dive into the DOC, the more vulnerable that makes you.

With anything on the internet, if you search hard enough, you’ll find information, opinions, and support for both sides of any issue. So while you’ll find people who have the opposite viewpoint as you, you’ll also find like-minded people. Everyone has opinions and everyone is not going to agree. But by putting your thoughts out into the vastness of the Internet, you have to be prepared for and strong enough to handle people who disagree with you. But that doesn’t mean your thoughts are not still valuable to others.

When you reach a state of burnout for whatever reason, instead of thinking about why you stopped, remember why you started.

Why did you start blogging? Why did you first become active in the DOC? What was and is your purpose for being here?

I started blogging because I wanted to hold myself accountable. But more than that, I wanted to share my unique experiences with a shared community. I wanted to educate those who don’t know what it’s like to live with T1D. I wanted to connect with others. I wanted to be inspired and to inspire others. I started sharing my story so that others could see bits of their own life in my posts, and for me to find pieces of myself in theirs. I started so that together we would strengthen one another, support one another, and together help each other through the ups and downs.

Sometimes I get so caught up in the day to day that I forget why I started. Sometimes when I don’t get comments on or offline about my blog, my purpose starts to drift away. Comments aren’t the reason why I blog, but they are good fuel. All it takes is one person telling me that they love reading my blog or commenting that I’ve inspired them to make some difficult changes that keeps me going. The hard part is remembering that even if no one tells me these things, there are lots of people who read my blog without commenting that still find value.

So from this social media burnout day, I’ve decided that the next time that I feel like I need to step-back and take a break, that I instead will write 3 nice comments on someone else’s blog. Because those comments might just be enough to help that person through their burnout.

2015 Diabetes blog week Day 1- I can

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“What have you or your loved one accomplished, despite having diabetes, that you weren’t sure you could? Or what have you done that you’ve been particularly proud of? Or what good thing has diabetes brought into your life?”

My diabetes has given me knowledge and a need for understanding.

 

It has given me knowledge about an autoimmune disease and the various complicated pieces of managing it. It has taught me to truly understand my body and how I feel, what I need, and when something isn’t right. It has taught me the influences, interactions, and consequences of everything I do and its effects on my body and blood sugar, from food to exercise to stress. It has made me an expert in carbohydrates, a constant cruncher of numbers, and a person always seeking for answers, explanations, and ways to improve.  

My diabetes has given me empathy and gratitude.

 

Diabetes has given me a window into life with other illnesses and obstacles. Every disease is different and has its own set of challenges, but it has helped me to be empathetic towards everyone and what each person is going through. It has taught me to not be so quick to judge, to stop and consider what other people may be going through, even behind closed doors. It has given me an appreciation for the health and abilities that I have and gratitude for the way things are, as there are people that are not as fortunate. 

My diabetes has taught me to stand up for myself.

 

Between all the doctor’s visits, calls with the pharmacy and insurance company, nurses, and medical device customer service, I’ve learned to not put up with mistreatment and disrespect. I value my health and have learned that I don’t have to put up with people who don’t respect my time or my health. From switching doctors to getting the courage to ask for a manager on the phone, my diabetes has helped me be more assertive and in charge of my condition.

My diabetes has taught me about hard work, persistence, and discipline.

 

There are good days and there are bad. My diabetes has shown me the importance of having goals and that hard work usually pays off in the end. It has taught me that even when things aren’t going well, to stick with it, that tomorrow is a new day full of new numbers and new experiences. It’s taught me to not give up, despite the frustrations, challenges, and fatigue of caring for my diabetes. I’m strong enough to get through today, and the next day, and the next.

My diabetes has given me direction, purpose, and a voice.

 

My diabetes has led me into the field of public health and my career in health communication. My diabetes has helped me become an advocate for a cause I believe in. It has given me volunteer opportunities and led me to my position on the JDRF Young Leaders Committee. It has given me a voice through my blog and has led me to amazing people who I’ve shared my story with. My diabetes has given me a community. It has given me a sense of belonging, and my connections have inspired me in my own care. My diabetes has given me a platform to make positive change in the lives of others as we all work together to find a cure.

When life hands you lemons…

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My sister recently found out that she may have Celiac Disease.

As directed, she has completely cut gluten from her diet. While more and more gluten-free options are becoming available both in restaurants and grocery stores, it’s still a diagnosis that comes with its own set of challenges. I’ve watched her as she’s adjusted to this major lifestyle change. I’ve watched her grapple with finding something she can eat on a menu, watched her reluctantly turn down food at an event, watched her patiently pace the aisles looking for the gluten-free options or alternatives to her favorite recipes. It hasn’t been easy, but she has risen to the challenge with tremendous strength, discipline, and optimism.

I truly admire how she has stayed so positive despite having to give up or modify so many of her favorite foods. How she’s taken on the added responsibility of checking every food label and having the discipline to turn down what she knows she can’t have. How she’s gone from having the freedom and ease of choosing essentially any food to having much more limited options. Through all this, she’s faced this change courageously, head on, and hasn’t let it get her down.

I admire what she’s had to do even more because I’ve been so reluctant to make my own dietary changes even though I know it would help me. While I know that she doesn’t really have a choice if she wants to avoid doing damage to her intestines, she still doesn’t complain. I know I should eat less carbs, I know I should cut back on sugar. I know it would help tremendously to stabilize my blood sugars, to lessen my insulin intake. I know it would benefit my overall health, but I haven’t made those changes to what I eat.

I look at what she’s doing and I find it inspiring and motivating. It hasn’t been easy for her, but she’s doing it and using it as an opportunity to grow. As she said to me, “I think of it as a challenge, as a way to stay healthy, learn new foods I might not be used to eating, and definitely learn to cook better with the foods I can eat.” In many ways she’s given me hope that when I finally decide to make (less significant) changes, that I too can do it. And with so many people with both type 1 diabetes and celiacs successfully balancing both, I know that when I’m ready, I will have plenty of resources and inspiration within the DOC too.

No one asks for these types of challenges. Whether it’s balancing blood sugars on a daily basis or completely eliminating a protein composite from your diet, life is full of obstacles. It’s how you approach them that makes the difference.

I’m lucky to have such motivating, positive, and strong role models in my life. People who when handed lemons, they make amazing gluten-free lemon bars with almond crust!

Strip Safely & Diabetes Art Day: Strip Tease

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Diabetes Art Day has collaborated with the Strip Safely initiative to raise awareness about the issue of test strip accuracy. As stated on the website, “The goal is to collect a body of images that capture the emotional experience of relying on inaccurate test strips to make decisions about food, activity and medication that affect our immediate and long term health outcomes.”While the campaign urges people to send letters and use social media to get the message out, Lee Ann, the person behind Diabetes Art Day, recognizes that printed letters just does not capture and convey the emotion the way visual art can.
Inaccurate test strips is a huge problem, putting diabetic’s health and wellbeing at risk. We need more stringent accuracy requirements and the proper process to remove those that don’t meet this standard. It’s an issue that people need to know about. This edition of Diabetes Art Day is working to do just that, to bring awareness to this important issue so that action may be taken to ensure test strips and meters meet regulatory requirements.
My artwork for this Diabetes Art Day plays off the words, “Strip Tease”. While there is some humor involved, it points to the important issue of using test strips that are safe and accurate rather than those that may be deceiving and therefore harmful.

You can check out the gallery of images for this special Strip Safely Diabetes Art Day here.