Mindfulness and Diabetes
What does diabetes have to do with mindfulness? Everything. I used to live quite a different life than I do now, and for the longest time I couldn't even tell you what mindfulness was or what it felt like.
Ultimately what brought me to my journey with spirituality and mindfulness, was going through a complete transformation in life. Leaving a life of chaos and darkness to enter a life of purpose and positivity. Which did not happen over night of course.
Mindfulness quickly became a huge part of my life, and I'll tell you one thing, as the years have gone by it is easy to tell when I am consistent in my mindfulness practices and when I am not. If I start to get lazy or “too busy” for my meditation, breathwork, and/or yoga, then it affects my emotions, my mental state, my memory, and yes…my diabetes and over all physical health.
Mind, body, and spirit. The ultimate balance of health and wellness. Body, for people with type one diabetes is SO important, as it affects both mind and spirit. However, as I've come to find, it all starts in the mind. I’d say that the mind could be the most important to keep healthy, so the other two can follow suit. How do I keep a healthy mind? Easy, I practice being mindful.
Just like a sport or a skill you're trying to get better at, mindfulness is also something that ebbs and flows and develops over time. There are many different ways to practice mindfulness too. Two of my absolute favorites, that I do multiple times a week, are meditation and yoga.
I meditate every morning, anywhere from 5-30 minutes depending on the time that i have. Sometimes I sit or lay in silence and focus on my breathing, letting my thoughts be there without judgment, practicing pure detachment to the best of my ability. Sometimes I enjoy listening to a guided meditation from YouTube if I feel like I need some extra help getting my mind to slow down. Practicing meditation daily has helped me in a number of ways. It helps me to be present with such a busy schedule throughout the day, which therefore helps me to be more in tune with my body, which then helps me to pay closer attention to…you guessed it, my diabetes! It is wild how it has such a ripple effect. The more I incorporate meditation into my daily routine, the more I make healthy life choices when it comes to food, exercise, and blood sugar control.
Yoga is another mindfulness practice that I enjoy very much. Yoga is great for people with type 1 diabetes as it invokes mild exercise, as you are getting so very in tune with your body, feeling each deep stretch and pose. For me, yoga has been extremely beneficial for my mind, body, and spirit. I would recommend it to anybody who is physically capable of doing it. The more in tune I’ve become with my body, the more I’ve been able to keep on top of my diabetes without feeling like a robot. I’m able to feel it all, I’m able to tell when something is wrong without something beeping at me. I am completely in my skin.
These are just a few examples of ways to practice mindfulness. There are many different mindfulness books that I have read and have changed my life in different ways, list coming soon. As I stated before, when my mind, body, and spirit are in alignment, my blood sugars tend to also run much smoother and even. It all starts with the mind.
-Katie
Katie
My name is Katie, and “I got diabetus” (Wilferd Brimley voice). I’ve been a type one diabetic since the age of six, and have been dealing with diabetes for over twenty years. I am not a doctor, or a dietitian. I am just a woman who has learned a lot through trial and error, and still has a long way to go. I do not do anything perfectly in life and particularly in my life with diabetes, in fact, I eat a lot of donuts.
I am a 30-year-old woman with a whole life ahead of me, hopefully including my toes. I work at a nonprofit zoo on the administration side and I’ve always been a passionate animal lover, and pet mama. I cater on the side, and I'm a part time student at a local community college. I have many hobbies and interests including writing, traveling, sports and exercise (I’m currently training in a few different martial arts sports and LOVING IT), spirituality, self-discovery and food. That’s right, I LOVE to eat. Sometimes, that includes things that I “shouldn't”. I go through all the same things that most other 30 year old’s go through - just adding diabetes to the mix. But, you know what? I’ve been dealing with this for a long time, so I’ve learned a few tricks along the way to stay positive throughout the highs, and lows, no pun intended.
I believe that life is meant to teach us lessons, so we can grow into better beings. We may not always enjoy or understand these lessons. I've even straight up resented quite a few. However, I have learned to appreciate them, because they always make me stronger. Diabetes has been no exception. In fact, it has taught me some of the biggest lessons there are to learn, including acceptance, patience, discipline, and compassion for myself. A strange gift, but a gift nonetheless.
I want to talk about type 1 diabetes, and I want to KEEP. IT. REAL. I am not here to tell you what to eat. I’m here to open the floor. Let’s talk about it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. In my book it is always important to add a little humor too. Life is meaningless without some fun.
Cassandra and I want to create a community to speak openly about having type 1 diabetes, ways to manage it, personal experience, and most importantly, diabetic stressors that other people just don’t understand. We have been through it all, and I feel very lucky to have had a best friend in life that does understand this disease. However, I know that most people don’t have that, and that is where this community comes in.
Cassandra
Welcome! I’m Cassandra, a 30 year old living in Washington, DC attempting to tackle the world and manage my diabetes too. As of this September, I have had type one diabetes for 20 years and have always strived to remain in the best blood sugar control as possible. Of course, that hasn’t always happened and I sometimes find myself burning out over my obsession with diabetes control. Sometimes life happens or diabetes itself happens and management means just making sure you don’t feel too horrible or end up in the hospital.
As someone who wants to do as much as possible, I have had to learn how my daily and life experiences impact my diabetes. While I can assume most of us are told by our endocrinologists or healthcare providers that “diabetes is not a disability” and that those of us with diabetes can “do anything” those without the disease can, I feel this is a half truth. Diabetes is a physical disability that at times limits our movements, senses, and/or activities. However, with the astounding advances in diabetes education and the rapid development of technology in recent years, type one diabetics don’t have to constantly live their life with limitations and can live life as if they don’t have a disability.
Over the past 20 years I have come up with tricks and tactics to keep my blood sugars in control while I take on my many responsibilities and interests - exercising, cooking, cleaning, a desk job, international travel, dance performances, language learning, social events, etc. This doesn’t mean I have all the answers. I still struggle with how diabetes can affect everything and anything in my life and I have always gravitated towards learning from other’s experiences. That’s what Katie and I hope this space can do. We hope that we will be able to create a community of diabetics and like minded individuals to learn from, offer support to or receive support from, commiserate with, celebrate with, and grow together into flourishing individuals. We want to help provide the tools to take on whatever challenges we are faced with and hopefully predict and address the challenges we may face from our disability.
Katie and I have been best friends for almost 20 years now and we have supported one another through the many ups and downs we have faced. It has always been a real comfort knowing that someone else is going through a similar struggle and has come out on top. She and I are able to understand each other and the issues we face with our diabetes in a way that others can’t imagine. Hopefully we will be able to bring this same sense of comfort and understanding to you.