Being diagnosed with diabetes can be overwhelming. The amount of adjustments that you need to make and the number of compromises you need to do just to live comfortably can be life-changing. A lot of people get depressed and hopeless because they need to live with it for the rest of their lives.
Newsflash! Your life doesn’t need to end because of diabetes. Diabetes can be managed. With proper advice and research, you’ll be able to live a relatively normal life.
Let us give you a push in the right direction.
Opening Up and Building A Support Group
Coming to terms with diabetes is not an easy task. People who find out that they have diabetes tend to think about everything that they have to give up just to cope with it. These thoughts tend to linger and evoke strong feelings when they come across things that they can no longer do or enjoy like they used to.
Here’s what you can do.
- Communicate your Feelings – Talk about it
The key here is to communicate your feelings. Talk to a friend, a family member, or your doctor about your condition and how you feel about it. Talking to others will give you insight about what to do and allow you to release your bottled up feelings.
- Be Accountable to your Support Team – This is A Must
Your emotional support team can always keep you in check and remind you if you forgot to do something or warn you if an activity that you are going to do will put you at risk. If you encounter a health problem and you’re unsure of what to, talking to your physician should ease your worries. Don’t face diabetes alone if you don’t need to.
Eat Healthy, Live Healthy (Not just a cliche)
Some people think that their lives are over just because of diabetes. That is not true. In fact, a lot of people who are diagnosed with diabetes continue to live long and happy lives. Kate Cornell is one example who has type 2 diabetes but still enjoys life. This is because they learned to manage diabetes.
How to Manage Diabetes
- Learn to be Conscious with Calories of What You Eat
Proper diet and exercise will help you in coping with diabetes and preventing further complications. Eat the right kind of food and do plenty of exercise to keep your weight in check. Learn to count your carb intake to control your blood sugar level. Talk to your dietitian to plan your meals without limiting yourself too much. You might want to use this free diet software to control your blood sugar.
- Help Your Body to Sweat
Do some research on the kind of exercises and workouts that you can do that will allow you to lose weight and strengthen your heart. Check this example of an Exercise Routine for Diabetics. But always remember do things in moderation. Look at diabetes as an opportunity to improve your lifestyle.
The key is control
While living with diabetes may seem like a life sentence to most, it does not mean that you’ll let it control your life or make decisions for you. The only things it can make you do is be more active, which you should already be doing in the first place, and take your medications and food supplements for diabetes.
The rest, should be yours to decide.
