The Hardest Thing

Posted by Jerry Meece

If we were to have a conversation about diabetes, one of the first questions I would ask you is "What's the hardest thing you have to contend with in dealing with your diabetes?" I find that one single question not only gives me an incredible number of answers, it also gives me a lot of insight and information as to how well you are doing in controlling your diabetes. People just seem to open up when that question is asked, I think it's because everyone, regardless of how long they've had diabetes or how well they control it, has something that just drives them crazy in their everyday lives in contending with this disease.
That's why a long time ago, as some of you already know, we gave up the "slide 1, slide 2" type of diabetes education lectures in our self-management classes.
It's a lot more interesting and I believe helpful, to hear what participants in our classes have to say, whether it's what's really bugging them or if they have a solution for someone else's problem. Either way, I like it a lot more and think people learn a lot more when people with diabetes (PWD) do the majority of the talking and as an educator I listen more. I do know that our participants in our classes comment that they enjoy it more that way.
Everyone goes through tough times in their life and as someone much smarter than I once said, "It's not how what happens to you in life, it's how you react to it that determines who you really are." Out of adversity there comes an opportunity for growth and the decisions that we make can take us further than we ever dreamed. I think the most important thing we need to remember is that we are not alone in facing these challenges and that if we persevere, we will emerge better and stronger for it.
So the idea of this site is two-fold. To hopefully provide you with information that is of interest to you, but to also give you a chance to ask questons and give feedback so that we can all learn and gain more understanding about this enigma wrapped inside a riddle called diabetes.
So what is the hardest thing YOU have to do in dealing with your diabetes?