Positive Steps To Take When You’re Feeling Negative About Diabetes

On #worldmentalhealthday it’s important to remember that our mental health is extremely important to take care of when living day in and day out with a chronic disease.

Having a broken pancreas can take a toll on our everyday happiness, outlook on life, food intake, regular activities, and overall well-being. The adjustment from living a normal life to consistently monitoring your health is a lot of stress and responsibility to take on.

Even after 14 years of it, I still find myself extremely frustrated over the price of medications, my blood sugars acting up, counting everything I eat, or just getting tired of feeling crappy for no good reason. Depression and anxiety are two very common things to experience when living with a chronic disease and it’s important to know that you are not alone. I’ve dealt with years of anxiety due to consistently adjusting to life with diabetes. Whether I was going through puberty, going to college, or starting a professional career, I faced challenges that when mixed with diabetes seemed suffocating.

Whenever I find myself thinking negatively about my Diabetes, I take a few moments to incorporate some ways to make it positive.

Here is my list of tiny rewards and thoughts to turn a frown upside down:

• Buy yourself a new low-snack that you don’t normally indulge in. Get the PopTarts, you deserve it.
• I always reward myself with Starbucks after going to a doctor’s appointment no matter how it went.
• Think about how many people in the world don’t know how many carbohydrates are in a cup of oj? That’s knowledge baby, own it.
• Remember how much of a badass you are when someone says “I hate needles, I could never do that”. (even though we don’t really have a choice).
• You can always bring a purse, no matter the size, into all concerts and sporting events. Live your Mary Poppins truth.
• Stop for ice cream to treat a low even though you brought other low snacks.
• REMEMBER HOW AWESOME YOU ARE FOR EVEN DEALING WITH THIS CRAP EVERYDAY!!!!! Scream it from your rooftop, print it out and tape it to your mirror, yell it at your pets (but softly don’t scare them).

Today reminds us that although life constantly throws us curveballs, there’s always a way to look at the glass as half full.

I know it’s easier said than done, but positive thoughts are powerful thoughts. Next time you feel under the weather, remember your power, your strength, and your positivity!

– Ariana