Living with Diabetes

The collective energy has been heavy lately, I feel it too. The last thing I want to think about is my diabetes, yet the stress of today’s environment sends my blood sugar on a rollercoaster of highs and lows. I’ve discovered a few tricks that help my mental state when times get tough, and it includes some acts of self-love. Here they are:   1. Be Gentle with Yourself When you catch yourself getting frustrated with your diabetes (as we all do), remember to be gentle with yourself. I like to pause and take a breath while repeating my favorite...

I never have imagined a world where I could not leave my home. Having diabetes for 20 years, I have an established diabetes routine that helps me manage my blood sugar, and the past few weeks of quarantine have certainly challenged that routine. With much of the world staying at home, I figured now was a good time to provide some tips on adjusting your diabetes routine during this difficult time:   1. Keep a Schedule Use this time to develop an eating and blood sugar checking schedule for yourself. I like to have a consistent time I do things...

In this time of uncertainty, it is more important than ever that we focus on our mental wellbeing. I’m not a doctor, but after living with diabetes for 20 years, I’ve experienced tons of anxiety rollercoasters relating to my diabetes and have found ways to balance my mental state during these difficult times. Here are some of my tools for managing anxious feelings:   1. Focus on What You Can Control I used to feel anxious about every little thing related to my diabetes. For example, I would eat a meal and constantly think: am I counting my carbs correctly,...

Being a woman with diabetes can be extra challenging during that time of month! I’ve lived my whole adult life with diabetes, so I have extensive experience in managing diabetes + my period. Here is what I suggest:    1. Keep Track of Your Period It’s important to track your period each month so you know when to expect it. I like to do it the old-fashioned way by using my calendar on my phone, but I know there are also a ton of great apps out there such as, Flo. Keeping track of when you’re going to start your...

***BEEP BEEP BEEP***Wake Up. Check Instagram. Check Snapchat. Check Twitter. Check Facebook. Get out of bed for the day. Does anyone else’s morning tend to look something like this? After living with diabetes for 17 years I've begun to realize that navigating the world of social media with this disease is not always easy. We are often told that we should hide diabetes, but I am here to tell you that this is far from the truth, because:    1. What You See Isn’t Always as It Seems Often the first thing I do is look at pictures people have...