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From
ChangeOneDiet.com
When you have diabetes, your attitudes are
tugged in two seemingly opposite directions. On the one hand, you need to make
good blood-sugar control a top priority, to the extent that your time and daily
activities are organized around your self-care routine. On the other hand, you
want to live as normal a life as possible. Should diabetes always be in the top
of your mind, or should you try not to dwell on it?
These questions represent a spectrum with two
unhealthy extremes on either end, according to
ChangeOneDiet.com. One is denial (especially common in the early
days of a diagnosis), in which you fail to realize or accept the changes
necessary to take care of diabetes and ensure a high quality of life over the
long haul. The other is obsession, in which you desperately strive for
perfection in every aspect of your treatment to the extent that you think about
little else.
You need to incorporate a little of both
extremes into your attitude about diabetes, according to the experts at
ChangeOneDiet.com. A bit of denial allows you to set
aside gloomy thoughts of complications so that you can concentrate on enjoying
your life today. And a certain amount of obsession encourages you to be diligent
about your care. But taken too far, both outlooks can threaten your health --
denial -- because it leads to poor glucose control, and obsession, because your
inevitable failure to achieve perfect control leads to disappointment and
discouragement. Finding the right balance depends in part on the way you
approach life as a whole.
Seek serenity. The familiar adage that
we should have the courage to change the things we can, the serenity to accept
the things we can't, and the wisdom to know the difference applies particularly
well to diabetes.
ChangeOneDiet.com
says that it's important to take responsibility for your disease and do
everything in your power to manage it, but also to let go of the idea that
you'll ever exert total control over diabetes -- or any other aspect of your
life.
Embrace ambiguity. If you wrestle with
questions of whether you should consider yourself sick versus well, or in
control versus at the mercy of your disease, step back and ask why it's
necessary to have all the answers.
Know yourself. The real issue in how
you think about diabetes may be how you think about yourself. Do you see
yourself as a person with a disease or someone who's loving, creative,
resourceful, and appreciated by family, friends, and community? The less you
define yourself by your condition, the easier it will be to see the measures you
take to control your diabetes as steppingstones to fulfilling your truly
important roles in life.
For more diabetes tips and mouth-watering
recipes and meals, visit
ChangeOneDiet.com
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