[acb-diabetics] staying motivated with diabetes

[Patricia LaFrance-Wolf]

Staying Motivated With Diabetes Part 3


Part Three of Three

Clay Wirestone
Aug 19, 2011 

Scientific studies -- and our own common sense -- tell us that staying
motivated and engaged helps control our diabetes
<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/> . We know what we should resist temptation
at the dinner <http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/food/dinner/>  table,
monitor our blood
<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/monitoring/blood-sugar/>  sugars
avidly, and get regular check-ups. But knowing all of these things, and
knowing that self-motivation is the way to achieve them, isn't quite enough.

How do we actually find that motivation? How can we maintain it? How can we
make it work for us and for our disease?

Unfortunately, there's no single answer to these questions. We're moving
into the area of personal psychology, where the solutions of one person may
not be the solutions of another. Diabetes isn't a mental illness, but it
certainly affects how we look at and engage with the world. Depending on our
individual experiences, some aspects of diabetes care may seem easy, while
others overwhelm.

That being said, there are a handful of simple and agreed-upon ways to boost
motivation. Here's a list of five. Each of these is a great place to start.
If you have any suggestions, please add your comment. We'd love to hear from
you.

1) Education, education, education. While education on its own may not
motivate you (indeed, it can seem daunting to master carbs, boluses, and
A1Cs <http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/monitoring/a1c-test/> ), you
can't function without it. You need to see the path before you can walk it.
Education shows you that path.

2) Lose the negativity. If you're newly diagnosed, you may feel incredibly
cheated and angry. You may lash out at people you love or react in
self-destructive ways. Some of this is normal, but you must let it go. Your
diabetes isn't going anywhere. You'll have to engage with it eventually.

3) Find support. Use your family and friends. Help them learn how to cheer
you on. If you need to, find fellow people with diabetes. Their experiences
can help push you ahead. Be careful, though, not to let the anger or
depression
<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/complications-and-care/depression/>
of others suck you in. You have to be able to boost yourself, too.

4) Give yourself time. Leo Tolstoy didn't write War and Peace in an
afternoon. You won't lose 50 pounds and achieve perfect blood sugars in a
week. A big accomplishment -- which handling your diabetes certainly is --
takes serious effort over a lot of time.

5) Have a goal. It might be a small thing -- lowering your average blood
sugar by a couple of points. It might be a big thing -- going on a pump or
some other kind of medical device. It might be simply getting up more often
to go for a walk. But shorter-term goals give us signposts to manage this
long-term disease.

Ultimately, we're not interested in merely managing our diabetes. We want to
have full, rich, and rewarding lives. We want to be there for the people we
love, and we want to be as healthy as possible.

And if that doesn't motivate us, nothing will.


Sources:
http://www.everydayhealth.com/type-1-diabetes/type-1-diabetes-motivation.asp
x
http://www.healthcentral.com/diabetes/c/17/58264/positive-motivation

  _____  

Categories: <http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/community/> , A1c Test
<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/monitoring/a1c-test/> , Blood Sugar
<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/monitoring/blood-sugar/> , Depression
<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/complications-and-care/depression/> ,
Diabetes <http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/community/diabetes/> ,
Diagnosis <http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/health-care/diagnosis/> ,
Education
<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/complications-and-care/education/> ,
Medical <http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/products/medical-device/>
Device, Motivation
<http://www.diabeteshealth.com/browse/columns/motivation/> 

  _____  




 
<https://www.diabeteshealth.com/read/2009/02/10/6087/you-can-help-support-di
abetes-health/> Donate to Diabetes Health

Recommend this : 

Not at allSomewhatModerately

 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/acb-diabetics/attachments/20110823/02758632/attachment-0001.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.gif
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 577 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/acb-diabetics/attachments/20110823/02758632/attachment-0002.obj>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image002.gif
Type: application/octet-stream
Size: 4355 bytes
Desc: not available
URL: <http://www.acb.org/pipermail/acb-diabetics/attachments/20110823/02758632/attachment-0003.obj>