LiveFree with T1D

How are you feeling right now in your life with diabetes and mental health? 

(ex: stressed, overwhelmed, strong, confident, tired, content, burnout, etc.)

Take a moment to check in with yourself because your mindset and feelings around your diabetes and mental health are valid and important. Diabetes is a long game, but it doesn’t have to hold you back from enjoying your life. There may be times when you want to throw in the towel, but this will only make the mental health challenges of diabetes even harder. You are in the game and it will take time and effort to find the tools and mindset that work for you to manage your diabetes and mental health, but the payoff is worth it. We are in this game together!

In this episode of the Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I discuss the importance of thinking about diabetes and mental health as a long game and share tools to support you as you strengthen your knowledge and understanding of your relationship with diabetes. 

My book, Diabetes Sucks and You Can Handle It, can now be purchased on Amazon or from my website, www.thediabetespsychologist.com/book. Follow The Diabetes Psychologist on Instagram @thediabetespsychologist and join The Diabetes Psychologist Community on Facebook.

Is it important for you to have someone on your diabetes healthcare team who also lives with diabetes? I recently asked my Instagram followers this question and many responses said yes, it’s extremely important for them that someone on their team had diabetes. Diabetes is challenging and you want someone who really GETS IT and knows the day-to-day work that goes into your diabetes management.

Even though many of us may not have the opportunity to have someone on our team who has diabetes, I want to make sure I am giving you the best information I can because as both a mental health professional and a person who lives with type 1 diabetes, I GET IT. I know where you are coming from and I have lived through many of my own struggles with diabetes. 

In this episode of the Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I share 3 of my biggest mental health challenges with T1D and the tools that helped me to overcome them. I hope that sharing my own struggles and the skills I learned, helps you to reflect and overcome your own struggles so you can be more spontaneous and present in your life. 

My book, Diabetes Sucks and You Can Handle It, can now be purchased on Amazon or from my website, www.thediabetespsychologist.com/book. Follow The Diabetes Psychologist on Instagram @thediabetespsychologist and join The Diabetes Psychologist Community on Facebook.

Two years ago, at the age of 33, Jake was diagnosed with diabetes. Having lived a majority of his life without diabetes, Jake has been struggling with grieving his old life and is in the process of learning how to balance diabetes without it becoming all-consuming.

In this episode of the Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I coach Jake and discuss tips to help him navigate the mental gymnastics of diabetes. Even though his life has changed, he can still find ways to do the things he enjoys with flexibility and freedom as a T1D. 

My book, Diabetes Sucks and You Can Handle It, can now be purchased on Amazon or from my website, www.thediabetespsychologist.com/book. Follow The Diabetes Psychologist on Instagram @thediabetespsychologist and join The Diabetes Psychologist Community on Facebook.

**Content warning: we discuss drug prevention in an example during this podcast episode at 2:30. If you want to avoid this section, please skip to 4:04**

From time to time, we all struggle with creating a healthy mental space while managing diabetes. When you think about your own mental health, do you have specific methods, routines, or habits, you lean on that help you feel better? On the other hand, do you find a way to sabotage your mental health? Think about how you are caring for your mental health in a healthy way or your struggles that may potentially be making it worse - these are your risk factors and protective factors.  

In this episode of the Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I share a framework to help you identify risk and protective factors in your life with T1D so that you can spend more time doing what works for you and less of what doesn’t. 

Diabetes Sucks and You Can Handle It can now be purchased on Amazon or from my website, www.thediabetespsychologist.com/book. 

Follow The Diabetes Psychologist on Instagram @thediabetespsychologist and join The Diabetes Psychologist Community on Facebook.

Diabetes does not define you. 

The stress of diabetes can feel overwhelming at times - like you can’t breathe or focus on anything else. It can feel like a constant balance between enjoying your life and prioritizing your diabetes management. But what if you could do both? You deserve to live your life to the fullest and to feel empowered to prioritize your hobbies, social activities, and all the aspects that make you…YOU. 

In this episode of the Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I share 3 steps to help you see yourself as more than a person with diabetes and to take back the reigns on your life.

Diabetes Sucks and You Can Handle It can now be purchased on Amazon or from my website, www.thediabetespsychologist.com/book. 

Follow The Diabetes Psychologist on Instagram @thediabetespsychologist and join The Diabetes Psychologist Community on Facebook.

Have you ever felt really stressed out and then your CGM alarm starts blaring or your finger stick shows your sugars are going high, which then caused you to stress out even more? We have all been through stressful situations that are almost identical to this scenario. Have you ever stopped to reflect on how your mental health was impacting your blood sugars? We can't talk about managing your blood sugars without talking about your mental health because they are actually deeply intertwined and play a huge role in diabetes management.

In this episode of the Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I share 4 reasons why paying attention to your mental health is key to getting your blood sugars in range and discuss why mental health matters for your blood sugars and why blood sugars matter for your mental health. 

My new book, Diabetes Sucks and You Can Handle It, can now be purchased on Amazon or on my website, www.thediabetespsychologist.com/book. 

Follow The Diabetes Psychologist on Instagram @thediabetespsychologist and join The Diabetes Psychologist Community on Facebook.

My new book, Diabetes Sucks and You Can Handle It, launched this week!!

For the past year, I have been working tirelessly to create a useful and easy-to-read guide for managing the emotional challenges of T1D. This book is designed to guide and support you as you build upon your skills in diabetes management and tap into some amazing resources that will show you how much more enjoyable life can be when you accept that you can handle diabetes..even when it sucks!

In this episode of the Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I answer questions that I have received from my listeners and readers over the past few months about real-life applications for the concepts within the book. This episode is a sneak peek of what you can expect when you read the book!

Diabetes Sucks and You Can Handle It can now be purchased on Amazon or on my website, www.thediabetespsychologist.com/book.

Follow The Diabetes Psychologist on Instagram @thediabetespsychologist and join The Diabetes Psychologist Community on Facebook.

Do you ever feel like you just need a break from diabetes? Do you think the best way to reduce your stress is to avoid thinking about and managing diabetes for a while?

On paper, that makes sense. However, what actually happens is you make the situation worse. The more you try to avoid the stress of diabetes, the harder it comes back to bite you.

In this episode of The Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I talk about The Paradox of Avoidance. You'll hear why trying to avoid stress does the exact opposite of what you want it to do. I show you how leaning into the stress makes it easier to deal with, and I give you some tips to help you do just that.

Click HERE to join The Diabetes Psychologist Membership. Use code COMMUNITY to get your first month for $10.

Follow The Diabetes Psychologist on Instagram @thediabetespsychologist and join The Diabetes Psychologist Community on Facebook.

Click HERE to join The Diabetes Psychologist Membership. Use code COMMUNITY to get your first month for $10.

Follow The Diabetes Psychologist on Instagram @thediabetespsychologist and join The Diabetes Psychologist Community on Facebook.

Follow The Diabetes Psychologist on Instagram @thediabetespsychologist and join The Diabetes Psychologist Community on Facebook.