New Coping Skills to Help Manage Your Diabetes
Jan 10, 2023
Food isn’t the only thing we reach for when we want to “run-away” emotionally or physically from our lives at that moment. Some turn to alcohol, some to drugs, some to gambling and other addictive activities. These activities start off stimulating our dopamine centers in the brain. We get relief from this great hit of dopamine and we love that. So we keep doing these activities until finally the dopamine hits slow down and fade away. We need to take more and more to get the same good feeling. Finally, we get to the point where we have to take our “drug” of choice just to relieve the bad feelings.
Any of these will impact your health and especially your diabetes. If your goal is to better manage your blood sugar levels or maybe even reverse your diabetes, you will need to develop different ways to cope.
How do you do that? You may be thinking, “if I knew a better way, I’d be doing it!” Well, maybe. First, it depends on the magnitude of what you are trying to avoid or cope with. Not all but many weight issues, for example, start from trauma at a young age – from being shamed in some way, treated badly physically or emotionally. The weight can be protection from attracting too much attention. If the issue is a big one, you might want to avoid dealing with it as much as possible.
With diabetes, developing new coping skills will help you manage your diabetes better as well as help you deal with the underlying issues in your life that keep you from fully loving and living your life.
Where to start:
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Start with very small steps. Instead of reaching for an unhealthy food or drink or whatever, do something to divert your attention to something else like taking a short walk or taking a shower or reaching out to a trusted friend, anything that does not involve eating, drinking or other unhelpful behaviors.
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Do something that will make you laugh. Watch a funny show or movie or whatever you might do that will make you laugh. Laughter is a great way to relieve tension, helps in coping with chronic illness and stress. It also supports your immune function, increases endorphins in your body and much more.
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Decide if you need more help from a professional. Digging into painful experiences from the past often requires a safe environment and a trusted professional to guide you.
Think about what you can do to soothe yourself in a healthy way. There are many options here. It comes down to whatever works for YOU!
I’m offering a free webinar, “Managing Your Type 2 Diabetes, Naturally” Wednesday, January 11, 2023 at 5:30 PM MST. If you are interested, here is the link to learn more.
Dr Elaine
Download my free 30 Day Guide to Manage or Reverse Type 2 Diabetes
This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or healthcare provider. Please consult your healthcare provider for advice about a specific medical condition.
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