Why is Diabetes So Hard?
Diabetes & Why is it so hard?
Why is diabetes so hard? I can sum that up in 3 words.
“Diabetes” (1) “demands” (2) “change” (3)
You must be thinking what I am thinking… “Easier said than done doc.”
Like most people with diabetes (90%), I was diagnosed with diabetes as an adult. By the ripe age of 32, I had enough time to solidify all of my bad habits of eating sugary foods, skipping sleep, running a high stress life, missing my exercise, and putting other people first. Did I go through the process of change after I was diagnosed? Yes, I did. In fact, I did the hero’s journey full circle. If you are not familiar with the hero’s journey, click here to see the hero’s journey.
Here is my story….
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune process that destroy the body’s ability to make insulin. Something interplayed between my genetics and the environment, and my body triggered a process to destroy my whole pancreas in a matter of months. To put this into perspective, if you have Type 2 diabetes, your pancreas will eventually start to die off too, but it happens very slowly over a matter of 15-25 years. When you have a pancreas that works, there is still a lot of cushion for wrong doing (eating, stressing, etc.) and thus you can use pills to control your blood sugar. When you do not have a working pancreas, there is no cushion. My blood sugar can go up just from scrubbing my lips with sugar… so what is my point? There was no time to think about change... I had a very sudden dilemma in my hands when I was diagnosed with diabetes:
Change dramatically and live healthy with controlled blood sugars
Don’t change, do to the hospital all the time, and eventually destroy my body in 5 to 10 years time frame.
Yes, life handed me an ultimatum… and neither option sounded good except the “live healthy” part. I understand how hard “HARD” is. Research studies for self care with diabetes have been done to quantify the amount of time it takes. Nearly 5 hours per day, if averaged over 365 days, is required for self care activities for a person with Type 1 diabetes. Nearly 2.5 hours per day is required for a person with Type 2 diabetes. Both of those statistics are staggering. You must even consider that some people may require more time for education on how to change and what to do or finding a doctor who takes the time to teach them properly! And “Yes”, I can help you to get there faster.
It is not about my story, it is about yours….
Everyone’s circumstances are unique to them. One thing that we share is that change is difficult for everyone. “Whether you think you can or think you can’t, you are right.” Henry Ford. This statement underscores my philosophy that thoughts can be productive and counterproductive.
Diabetes is a loud cry from your body to do the right things to make it healthy. Diabetes does not tolerate a bad lifestyle because the result is high blood sugars, loss of your vitality and eventually other health problems.
When I was diagnosed with diabetes, I was not sad. On the contrary, I was happy. Why was I happy at diagnosis? What in the world was I thinking? I was thinking this:
Diabetes is a good reason to do all the healthy things that used to just be intentions.
Diabetes will help me lose weight because I cannot eat sugar.
Diabetes is a disease that I know how to conquer. At least, it wasn’t something worse.
I ALREADY KNOW ALL THE EDUCATION, SO THAT IS ALL THAT I NEED… I AM SET FOR SUCCESS.
I WAS WRONG! Come to find out after only 3 to 6 months, I was severely overly optimistic. Diabetes was kicking my butt because I underestimated how hard change was going to be for me. It took me a few years to evolve myself. If I would have had someone to help me, then it would have been quicker. I needed a diabetes coach, but back in 2015, there were not any diabetes coaches. Diabetes coaching is a fairly new industry. I am a strong believer in it. Don’t get me wrong. Education is helpful. It puts you on the platform for success. It puts you on an even playing field when you are battling diabetes. A full education about nutrition, exercise, medications, lifestyle, etc is an absolute necessity. But I know from experience that all the education in the world does not help your internal struggles for change. I had to create a big tool belt of empowerment for myself in order to use my tools. I never stopped trying. I refuse to lay down and die and that was my superpower in order to complete my hero’s journey for a healthy and happy life while living with diabetes. I hope you schedule for a consultation.
“ When the student is ready, the teacher will appear.”
