Diabetes Blog – Happy-Medium.net

For the 5th year in a row, diabetes writers from all over the world will be participating in a solid week’s worth of informative, educational, and inspirational blog posts. To find out everything you need to know about Diabetes Blog Week, click on the banner above. A big Thank You to Karen Graffeo for making this happen every year!

Today’s topic:

Yesterday we opened up about how diabetes can bring us down. Today let’s share what gets us through a hard day. Or more specifically, a hard diabetes day. Is there something positive you tell yourself? Are there mantras that you fall back on to get you through? Is there something specific you do when your mood needs a boost? Maybe we’ve done that and we can help others do it too? (Thanks to Meri of Our Diabetic Life for suggesting this topic.)

Full disclosure: I’m not a Mantra Man. I like to keep a few key phrases in my head now and then, but it seems like every time I try to live my life according to a mantra, it winds up being an epic fail. What could be the reasons for this? Discuss among yourselves…

However, there are a few phrases going on in my head right now, and remembering them does help me focus on what’s important to me. So maybe instead of living my life by them, or falling back on them, or something else, these phrases are good tools to help me focus, or refocus, when I feel like something is out of control diabetes-wise.
 
 
The first: Never Give Up. Never Give Up. Never Give Up.
It is so haaaaard to deal with the everyday-ness of living with diabetes. As a result, it is so easy to just chuck the responsibility, even for a short while. Which sometimes (in my case) can become a big while. Then, when I look at myself in the mirror and I don’t like what I see, or my A1c comes back with a different number than I expect, it can really get me down. Add in the threat of diabetes-influenced complications, and you can really feel like you’re going down in a big swirling mess and you’ll never be the same again.

Maybe that’s true. Maybe you won’t be the same again. Maybe you’ll be better. But even if you’re not the thin, strong, put-together person you once thought you were, you can still be the best you can possibly be right now. That all begins when you look in the mirror and say:
Never Give Up. Never Give Up. Never Give Up.
 
 
The second: Show Me How Big Your Brave Is.
This phrase, from the song “Brave” by Sara Bareilles, is for everyone who thinks they’re not an advocate, or thinks they are too shy, or worst of all, thinks they can’t make a difference. I thought all of those things too at one time. And I’m under no delusions… I know I can’t make the biggest of differences on the biggest stage in the world. Who cares? I know I can do something. And I’m interested in finding out what that something is. A year and a half, two years ago, that meant donating money to great causes. Today it means something else.

You know what? I’m still asking, and I’m still finding out How Big My Brave Is. I’m really surprised (and scared) at how big it is sometimes, compared to my normally mild-mannered self. So I’m saying to you: You are capable of great accomplishments that may affect one or thousands. What are you waiting for?
Show Me How Big Your Brave Is.
 
 
Finally: I support you… no exceptions.
In the past year, I’ve had to deal with a lot of different feelings about a lot of different people in our community, over a wide range of topics. Most of the time it’s all good, and I cherish that. Sometimes… well, it’s always hard to disagree on a subject with someone you admire and respect. Likewise, it’s tough when someone feels hurt and doesn’t want to put themselves out there like they used to. It’s even more difficult to watch someone stop caring, about themselves or others. Most of the time, I won’t get the result I’m hoping for from those moments. If I ever do, it’s generally not going to be on my timeline anyway.

The one thing I know I can do in each of those situations is offer support. The one thing that the other person can always use in each of those situations is support. Full, unequivocal, no-holds-barred support that says I don’t care what bothers you, I’m in your corner anyway. You have the freedom to piss me off over a blog post or newspaper article, or to hibernate until you feel like popping into my life again.

You deal with the same things I do every day, but we are not all wired the same. I don’t live inside your skin, but I know your burden. With support comes empowerment. No matter what happens, whatever I’m feeling slowly fades away each time I say:
I support you… no exceptions.
 
 
What about you? What are your mantras/fallbacks/key phrases? Find out some more by looking up #DBlogWeek’s Day 4 posts.