'Diabetically-Unique'

It's incredibly easy for diabetes to become entangled with who you are as a person. It's hard sometimes to separate yourself from 'diabetes.' Whether that is talking about diabetes constantly or connecting it with who you are.  I notice myself doing this a lot of the time, I find that my go-to chats are about diabetes or what I've done with diabetes and sometimes I get tired of it.

The truth is, it is healthy to be aware of your diabetes and it is O.K to talk about diabetes, but I think that there are times when talking about diabetes isn't needed or maybe would be considered unhealthy.  It's hard to go from not feeling 'unique' to feeling 'diabetically-unique' where you feel like your life revolves around your diabetes rather than other good/bad traits, characteristics, experiences, stories, memories, that are unrelated to your diabetes.

With such a 24/7 disease of course as a diabetic you're going to have diabetes in your vocabulary often but I think that it can also lead to a burn out, which I think a lot of type one's face over their course of life with diabetes.

Either way, I think that it is important to remember to take a breathe in a different space sometimes and let your mind rest from diabetes.  Don't let diabetes define you, instead make it a part of you.  This is something I am learning to do.

Kayla