My hubby and I went to the Canadian Diabetes Association’s expo this weekend in Vancouver. My usual frustration with these expos are the depressing booths and the feeling of imminent demise from the complications of diabetes. We are battered with talk of kidney problems, eye problems, heart problems, mobility issues, foot problems, neuropathy, and on and on. We are told how to eat better, eat less, exercise more, check our blood sugars more often, ad nauseum. Sometimes I just want to run screaming from the building. I long for a bit of levity amidst all the doom and gloom.

Fortunately, this time I was surprised and inspired by listening to Dr. William Polonsky give an informative and entertaining lecture on “diabetes burnout.” Dr. Bill is a clinical psychologist who is an expert in the field of behavioral diabetes (I didn’t even know the field existed!). He talked about the emotional side of diabetes which includes the personal, social, and behavioral sides of the disease. I would love to have a DVD of his presentation. (I settled for buying his book, “Diabetes Burnout: What to Do When You Can’t Take it Anymore”).

I also picked up his pamphlet called “the emotional side of diabetes: 10 things you need to know.” I think it’s an invaluable resource and I thought I’d share some of the information here. Dr. Bill also has a website: www.behavioraldiabetes.org where you can learn more.

Anyway, here is #1 of the 10 things you need to know about the emotional side of diabetes:

1. Harnessing Your Fears

With good care, you can live a long, healthy life with diabetes. Many people think they are doomed to suffer terrible complications, but this is simply not true! Diabetes is a serious disease and some people do develop severe long-term complications, but most of these problems are preventable if you have good medical care and take good care of yourself. Feeling a little frightened is not necessarily a bad thing, but when your fears get so big that you feel helpless and hopeless, it’s time to take action. You need to harness fear to help you manage diabetes.

• Fight fear with knowledge. Learn about the powerful benefits of good diabetes care by talking to your doctor or enrolling in a diabetes education program.
• Know the real odds. Ask your doctor about what your real odds for developing complications might be, and what you can do to improve those odds.
• Stay informed. Subscribe to any of the popular diabetes magazines to keep informed about how to avoid or slow complications.
• Don’t put up with frequent lows. If you are anxious about hypoglycemia, talk to your doctor about medication changes that can help. Fear of hypoglycemia is about losing confidence in your body, worrying a serious reaction could happen at any moment. It can lead to chronically high blood sugars, eating problems and an overly restrictive lifestyle. With treatment, these problems can be resolved.
• Stay in charge. Remember that your own self-care can make a big difference to your health. You are not helpless! After all, it’s not diabetes itself that typically causes serious problems, it’s poorly-controlled diabetes. With good care, you can live a long and healthy life.

Hope you can find something relevant here. I’ll do my best to keep posting Dr. Bill’s words of wisdom!