LIFE LESSONS & DIABETES

Diabetes is an autoimmune metabolic disease that appears in our lives so suddenly and irreversibly overturns our daily lives. After moving as quickly as possible from the stage of denial , anger , depression , negotiation , we finally reach acceptance . And then in the darkness we see the light and we begin to discover within ourselves what a chronic condition teaches us, whether you live with it yourself or a loved one.

I have been living with my daughter's diabetes for 19 years, who is now 27 years old.

19 life lessons I learned from my 'sweet' roommate.

What can diabetes "teach" you...

1. Appreciate the gift of life even more because you know how precious, fragile, and unique it is.
2. Take care of yourself, love yourself, because if you love and accept yourself, you will love and accept your 'sweet' companion.
3. Test your limits and your endurance every day, as every day is a new challenge to manage to maintain glucose levels at as normal levels as possible.
4. Get off the couch, incorporating sports and exercise into your daily routine. Physical activity becomes part of your routine that renews you, fills you with energy and a positive mood.
5. Do n't neglect your annual check-up as well as all the necessary tests recommended by your doctor.

6. Eat healthily by following the Mediterranean diet patterns, eliminating processed foods, sugar, and unnecessary fats from your diet.
7. Avoid or limit alcohol or smoking.
8. Do n't worry , don't waste yourself on things that aren't worth it. Inside you know that only health is the supreme good and your struggle to acquire or maintain it is the only daily battle worth fighting.
9. Choose what gives you joy and peace , moderating anything that causes you stress and negative emotions.
10. Do n't give up in the face of difficulties , instead look problems in the face and find within yourself the strength to overcome every obstacle.
11. Don't seek the perfect life, instead seek to live perfect moments, moments that are filled with what soothes your soul, mind, and body.
12. Be selectively 'selfish' as you know that time with yourself is precious and does not need to be spent pointlessly.
13. Show greater empathy and sensitivity towards human suffering, as your perspective changes not only on life, but also towards your fellow human beings .
14. To have defenses, to put up walls against anything that offends or challenges you. You know that you are an everyday hero , who has learned to fight and never stops fighting, giving your best.
15. Make plans for the future , without anything standing in the way of your dreams.
16. Choose friends who accept you for who you are and know that they will be there for you in times of need.
17. To bend and rise with even more strength and determination, surpassing your own limits.
18. Live in the now, with your whole being and with people you love.
19. Have a schedule and organization in your daily life, as you know that your 'sweet' self needs consistency in order to be able to control it.
20. And finally... you learn that life, no matter how many difficulties it has... no matter how many problems it has... is a journey and you, and only you, choose how you will live it. With optimism or with misery... With hope and dreams or with resignation...

Because life with diabetes has the meaning that YOU give it!

Written by Marianna Metaxa

Educator, Author of the books "My Sweet Kelly" and the fairy tale "Melita and Zacharoulis" and lyricist of the song "Listen to My Heart"