Day 17 - Diabetic Depression

Depression can be quite crippling when diabetes is added into the equation. Not only can depression set in from being diagnosed with diabetes but depression can drastically alter the `normal` homeostasis that one gets used to when taking care of themselves with diabetes

So let's look at one point first, the point of being depressed when being diagnosed or realizing that diabetes is going to have it limits on what you can do and not do within this lifetime. The thoughts that may be going on in the mind when this point is triggered are "I can't do the same things that I could always do" or "Man, my life is going to suck from now on because I cannot live the same way that I could" or " My life is never going to be the same again" so if these thoughts run around in the mind and are not directed then depression most likely is going to set in because if one accepts these thoughts as valid then one is going to believe that life is not going to be the same and must change everything that they do or must stop participating in the activities that they once did then of course depression will occur from this point. I remember one specific memory of going into depression when I was diagnosed and that was when I was introduced to hitchhiking and when I got home and discussed it with my parents the point of diabetes was brought to my awareness so in that moment I realized that diabetes was going to limit me in this lifetime so I went into a depressed state for a while. I was upset at the fact that I would not be able to do what I would like. So yes there are limitations that diabetics have to endure but it doesn't mean that one's entire lifestyle must change drastically.

So for example, I was a big skateboarder a few years ago, by big I mean I did it every day for at least a hew hours a day. Now if you're you would understand how exercise can really lower blood sugar so when I was diagnosed it didn’t mean that I couldn't skateboard anymore or express myself within the point of enjoyment within physical activity it simply meant that I need to make sure that I covered a few more points before I could go out and skateboard, mainly so check my blood sugar to see where it was at before I would go out, although I didn’t always do this, and it meant that I have to bring a few sugary things with me so that I could correct any lo blood sugars that happened when I would be out skateboarding.

In this one may believe that self is alone within the disease but that isn't necessarily true. Yes, we have to take care of ourselves alone we are the ones who are with ourselves in each moment and we are the ones who are going to know what is best for us in relation to insulin dosages and activity levels and what actions result in what reactions within the body, but the idea/belief that we are completely alone and that no one else is going to understand the disease is not true. When I was skateboarding with a group of friends they would check up on me every so often, ask me if I was low or if I needed anything to make sure that I am ok, which was nice in hind sight, or when I did need something to eat but didn't have anything on me then they offered to help out by getting me something to eat somewhere or somehow. They understood the basics of the issue = if I was low then I needed sugar to bring myself back up and that is all that they really needed to know to assist and support me when I would go low.

For those who face depression from time to time in relation to being a diabetic, look at the thoughts that are coming up and question those thoughts and whether or not they are really valid, and in this to as well not accept limitations from yourself. If you believe or think that diabetes is going to limit you from doing something then investigate and find solutions to the problem rather than only looking at the problem. Like now I see that if I had enough supplies on me then I would be able to hitchhike for a while, then find a hospital in an area that I was heading to then ask them for supplies as most hospitals give away insulin for free when in need, this is for Canada at least = so there are solutions, one only must take into consideration a few more points when embarking on a task. As well these points of consideration are not a burden upon self but a cool gift - as one starts to consider much more things about the body than a `normal` person would and can give oneself a lived knowledge of what the body can handle in relation to points within diabetes.

No need to be depressed simply look for solutions than the `problems` that exist.