Health for life

Showing posts with label simple. Show all posts

Burnt Out on Judgment The Not So Simple Motions of Diabetic Living

Sunday, March 16, 2014

This might seem silly... I know. I know I dont have to try hard, or go far, to ask my readers to imagine for a moment being a person with diabetes. (Naw... You dont say!) ☺

But still...! Imagine, for a moment that youre a person living with diabetes, and have lived with it for many, many years... Imagine its been challenging. Youve gone through many phases of burn out, and phases of challenge. Its been a deep struggle, for various reasons:

Managing this crap every day is a roller coaster, and well, it seldom likes to actually do what we expect it to do. Einstein once said that "doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results" was the definition of insanity. I like to call it... Diabetes.
You have some white coat person always reminding you if you dont take care of yourself, youre going to die. And NOT in uncertain terms, either.

Youll get retinopathy...
Youll get nephropathy...
Youll get neuropathy...
All the opathies...
Youll get your limbs amputated...
Youll lose bladder function...
Youll be impotent...
Youll have congestive heart failure, or a stroke...
Youll go into DKA, or insulin shock...
Youll DIE.

You may not necessarily have many close friendships, in your immediate circle of acquaintances, that can actually understand you.
You have some family members constantly reminding you of the things the white coat person was reminding you...
You have friends, coworkers, and other relatives, wanting you to FORGET about what the white coats, and the other family members, keep reminding you, and then just go live life with them... "just live a little." (And its always living thats centered around food, or alcohol.)
You have your own deep desires to want to just be NORMAL, or as close to normal as you can be... and "just live a little."
Youve carried the heavy load of discipline, and care, however individualized your load might be, for a long, long time. You are very AWARE of how serious it is if you dont carry the load.
You get tired... You burn out. You drop the load.

Now... most of us understand this circle. We understand that it gets OLD carrying the load, and we get burnout. We stop... we go through the motions. Often, we even get eating disorders, etc.

So we crusade long and hard for our folks, because, we dont want people to think we gave ourselves complications, when they happen. No one consciously says "Im going to chug donuts! I want retinopathy!" -- Burnout IS a part of chronic illness. It is NOT a character flaw. It is not simply "people not doing their part," or not taking responsibility. It is simply... people being TIRED from taking on so much responsibility.

By contrast, we may have well been doing our part, and were just genetically predisposed to complications... But the world outside of us does not understand "genetically predisposed." The media doesnt tell ANYONE about "genetically predisposed" -- only about you can prevent and avoid complications, if you just take care of yourself. Why? Because the media is not interested in shades of gray -- the media has a job, and that job is to gain viewership, and ratings. The only way you get viewership, readership, and ratings... is by generating controversy... And the only way you get controversy is by getting folks to think in the inflexible lanes of black and white. And when you scare people about the rising cost of diabetes (uncontrolled diabetes, mind you), and then show them articles about "My aunt Bonnie, who didnt take care of her diabetes, and was irresponsible, etc, etc..." people get MAD. Angry. Unsupportive. Unsympathetic.

Does that make sense? Im sure it does.

Now, imagine a non-diabetic person... living their life as usual. They want to be normal, and keep living, just like anyone else... and as usual. They have the same family members, coworkers, and friends pressuring them to "just live a little."

They go to their doctor, and hear:

"Meh, you could lose a couple of pounds, but youre fine."
"You maaaaaay, or maaaaaaay not get diabetes down the long road... Its just not easy to say. But dont worry about it. Youll be fine. Just walk it off."
"Meh, youre blood sugar is a little high, but youre fine! Theres no way you have any issues... Just walk it off..."
"Nah, I dont think we need to test anything, youre fine... Just walk it off..."

Now... If it is hard for us to get our minds wrapped around the realities and burdens of illness, when we HAVE illness... Imagine how hard it is for an illness-free person to get their minds wrapped around the POTENTIALS of illness, and some "boogieman" of illness, out there, somewhere, over the hill... that may come, or not come... but they cant really say for sure... Its just some hazy smoke and mirrors thing. Imagine being "genetically predisposed", but only if you trip! "Dont you ever TRIP!" (Of course, they dont ever mention the trip can also be almost anything, besides weight and diet...)

Sure, hindsight is 20/20. Id love to go back in a time machine, and slap the crap out of Liz, and tell her "hey, start carrying the load a little sooner!" (Not that itd be of much help, with all my other health conditions, medications, and predispositions... They are, together, a much stronger trigger than lifestyle...) Some might say I was damned if I didnt, and damned if I did... But Im not quite sure what Id be avoiding, frankly...

"Live sternly, as a diabetic, so that you dont become a diabetic."

Seems a bit off putting... It might be hard to convince Liz. Especially if no ones serious about the boogieman... Its never around, and just some foggy illusion thing... And EVERYONE says you can get rid of it, if you do get it... (snark, snark) I mean, yeah, we should ALL do our best to be healthy, and everything... but Liz might want to enjoy a burden free life for a little longer -- at least, as long as she can. I mean, isnt that what we long for when were burnt out? A bit of freedom? Choices? Splurging without going into some diabetic hell episode? Having a little more than a 1/2 cup of moderation?

Yeah, I thought so... What burnt out people want is not that different than what illness free people want. A little freedom, a little empathy, a little break, a little life.

So we should crusade long and hard for folks, because, people should not think we gave ourselves diseases, when they happen. Chronic illness is NOT easy to manage, but neither is it exactly so easy to avoid... No one consciously says "Im going to chug donuts! I want diabetes!," and most people arent binge eating disordered individuals... (And so what if some are... People have demons. People fight them as they can... or struggle, as they tire of their loads... Life is hard.) They are just people living... and illness IS a part of living. Illness doesnt really care if you gave it to yourself, or not. It is NOT a character flaw. It just is... It is simply... people going through the motions of LIVING...

3 Simple Ways to keep teeth healthy

Thursday, February 6, 2014

Many ways in which to maintain a healthy mouth and teeth. If oral health is disturbed then the activity youre screwed, because you will not be confident when communicating with others. Heres an easy way to create dental health reported by All You.

Eating nutritious foods

Phosphate and calcium in cheese can help preserve your enamel. Apple, can also stimulate saliva production. Eating these foods is an easy way to rid your mouth of the particles leftovers when you do not have time to brush your teeth.

Disposable dental floss

In addition to cleaning the rest of the food particles that can not be removed with a toothbrush, dental floss can make breath fresher. Useful flossing avoid bleeding gums and prevent cavities.

Drink with a straw

Soda, sports drinks, juice can erode the protective enamel of your teeth. Limit contact the liquid on your teeth by using a straw. Drink with a straw helps keep drinks was directly into the esophagus without the need to go through gears.

Healthy teeth will make you look fit and confident.

A simple way to prevent heart attacks

Tuesday, February 4, 2014

A simple way to prevent heart attacks - Heart disease is one of the worlds deadliest diseases. Actually, this disease can be prevented from the outset. However, many people shrugged. To keep it healthy and do not have a heart attack, follow the tips below reported Mind Body Green.

Do not smoke

Smoking is a poison that can kill you at any time. May initially very hard to let go of cigarette addiction, but believe me you will be healthier without tobacco.

Move

You want to be healthy but do not exercise at all? The result is a big zero. Instead you will be infected with many diseases if not ever exercise. You do not need to come to the fitness center to get a fitter body. Enough walking for 15 minutes while breathing fresh air. Besides making your mind fresh, this activity makes the heart healthy!

Manage stress

Stress triggers why you could develop heart disease. For that you must be good at managing stress. Never too late to think of problems, do not easily angered and enjoy your life. Live only once so why contrived hard?

Be more social

Having a lot of friends, family and spending time with fun is the most effective prevention of heart attacks. Conversely, if you do not want to hang out, youll be faster stress. It will kill you slowly.

This simple way to make you happier and fitter, thereby reducing the risk of heart disease.