My Story :
Psychological Inertia : Drop it today !
By Tanushree Pal
5
Diabetes distress personifies stress , anxiety and depression . It indicates an emotional state where people experience guilt or denial that ascend from living with diabetes and the burden of self-management .
Projections state that 33 to 50 % of people with diabetes will experience diabetes distress at some point ( Journal of Diabetes and Its Complications , 2015 ; 29 ( 4 ), 572-577 ).
You do not have to be a part of that 33-50 %. I decided not to be a part of that statistic .
The worrisome you is inevitable ; however , it is imperative to manage your emotions and drop that psychological inertia . The only person who can do it is you ! I was diagnosed with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus on a comfortably pleasant November afternoon of 2018 , with Pink Floyd playing ‘ Comfortably Numb ’ and rightly so , on loop .
My story of diabetes distress started with Stage 1 of denial . I tested myself four times to be sure that Assay 1 was a farce , only to be slapped with a confirmation that it was not . A natural transcend was anger . I had tested myself in January 2018 , with an HbA1c of 5.5 . How could things go horribly wrong in 10 months ? HbA1c of 11.4 , did I deserve that ? I am only 33 .
Acceptance of situations comes in phases ; I started my medications in December 2018 , but is the solution that could fix my psychological inertia to do better for myself ? It was just the first step of many others .
A little recap of what happened in those 10 months was essential to address , as we often do not recognize stress . We delay initiating what is known to us as healthy living , and I am a selfacclaimed workaholic . I believed I loved my screen time so much that I missed correlating signs of gum bleeding to diabetes . I ignored the fact that my endless parties and the junk I ate could ever lead to diabetes . The sleeping hours were erratic , and that seemed alright to me .
It has been two and half years since I have made conscious decisions about my eating habits , sleeping hours , exercise routine , and above all , to accept that I have diabetes , and it is only me who could drive myself to live better with it . Does that mean I do not have party nights anymore or do not treat myself with a piece of pastry ?. No ! I have just learnt to balance my act .
Breaking those shackles of inertia driven by denial and anger is extremely vital . It is important to be aware that it is alright to reach out to people and your loved ones to discuss your diabetes . Your family and friends make a considerable contribution to your healthy living . Do not shun them . Drop your inertia today .
I have , and you can too ; Take Control of your life with diabetes , moreover , Happily so !