The discourse presented in this episode revolves around the intricate interplay between mental health and chronic illness, with a particular focus on diabetes. Deborah draws from her personal experiences to elucidate the profound effects that chronic conditions can have on an individual’s mental state. She emphasizes the necessity of acknowledging mental health as a critical component of overall wellness, particularly in the context of managing chronic diseases. The conversation navigates through the complexities of how diabetes can exacerbate emotional strains, leading to challenges in both daily functioning and things like personal relationships, as well.
Your behaviors can help you feel better about yourself. Feeling better about yourself can help your thoughts and the thoughts can affect your behaviors. –Deborah [05:46]
A significant portion of the episode is devoted to the principles of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), a therapeutic framework designed to help individuals reframe negative thought patterns and behaviors. Deborah explains the foundational aspects of CBT, illustrating the interconnectedness of thoughts, feelings, and actions through the metaphor of a triangle. She posits that by addressing any disruptions within this triangle, individuals can foster improved mental health outcomes. With her academic background in psychology, Deborah provides a credible perspective on the efficacy of CBT, encouraging listeners to implement these strategies as a means of enhancing their mental resilience.
- Mental health is a critical aspect of overall well-being, particularly for those managing chronic conditions.
- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is a valuable approach for reframing negative thoughts and behaviors.
- Intentional self-care practices, such as spending time with loved ones or pets, are essential for nurturing one’s mental health.
The episode concludes with a heartfelt appeal for listeners to prioritize self-care and cultivate a mindset conducive to mental well-being. Deborah shares practical suggestions for integrating self-pampering and positive affirmations into daily routines, reinforcing the notion that mental health maintenance is an ongoing process. This episode not only serves as an insightful exploration of the mental health challenges faced by those with chronic illnesses but also offers actionable guidance for fostering emotional stability and promoting a positive outlook on life.
Chapters
- 02:00 Introduction to Mental Health
- 03:37 Understanding Mental Health and Diabetes
- 07:53 Learning to Pamper and Love Ourselves
- 11:02 The Importance of Managing Stress on Diabetes
- 11:56 The Power of Small Changes
- 13:33 Embracing Positivity
Episode Resources
Episode Credits
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Transcript
Okay, everyone. Hello, and this is Deborah. And today we're going to talk about mental health.
I almost said your mental health, but that sounds very accusatory and I wouldn't want to do that. So I guess I'm going to use my own mental health as the example. Anybody's mental health. The point is, mental health is very important.
There are enough things in diabetes that can cause problems, issues maybe is a better word, wreak havoc, and then add to that any other issues you may have. Like in my case, I also have epilepsy.
Add to that normal life relationships with other people, the havoc that diabetes can place and the strain on the relationships with other people, the challenge of your day to day activities, and the day to day activities that maybe you were unable to do that you could do before. So those changes in your life. Now, for me, I was diagnosed so young that I've been living with diabetes for a very long time.
For people who were diagnosed later in life, that can be quite a drastic change. Now, I know we've mentioned mental health before, and it's something that's very dear to my heart because it's also something I've studied.
My master's is in psychology, and as I've mentioned before on this podcast, my almost completed doctorate is in psychology. So I truly desire for people to find that mental balance in their life.
And I have found that if we are not paying attention and as life takes its potshots at us, it is easy for that to chip away. And sometimes we don't even notice until we turn around and say, whoa, what happened? Why am I feeling like this?
I'm not the type of person to get depressed, so why do I feel like maybe I'm getting depressed?
Whether you are in that position or you've been in that position, or you simply don't want to be in that position, it's a good time to take inventory and find some ways to deal with your mental health even before it becomes an emergency. Now, there's several different things that can help, but the one that we're going to talk about today is called cognitive behavioral therapy.
ped by Aaron Beck back in the:If you picture a triangle, it makes sense because it's actually working with your thoughts, your behaviors, and your feelings and how those influence each other. Your behaviors can help you feel better about yourself. Feeling better about yourself can help your thoughts and the thoughts can affect your behaviors.
...but also the other direction where feeling good affects your behaviors and that affects your Thoughts. And the thoughts affect your feelings. But many times we have something that's just a little bit awry.
And if that triangle gets a ding in it, and it's not quite a triangle, we're going to go a bit haywire. And that's when we can struggle with other issues, anxiety and so forth.
So if we can train ourselves to reframe how we're thinking, we can help ourselves, for instance, to feel good about ourselves. And maybe basic behaviors like spending time pampering yourself.
One of the things that I'm learning is I always felt guilty taking any time off or relaxing. It's like I could hear my mother's voice in my head saying, don't take a break. I regret saying that. So I needed to learn how to pamper myself.
Say, it's good to take a break. In fact, I'm going to take a break with Trudy, my little Italian Greyhuahua, and we are going to relax together. I'm going to pamper myself.
I'm going to pamper her, and I'm going to be loving towards myself.
I even put a task in my journal for behaviors, a task to spend five minutes relaxing with my pet and also reminding myself to respect myself and love myself. Now, compared to the way I grew up, that almost sounds silly. But it's not silly.
Practicing that intentional behavior henceforth, the cognitive aspect really does make a difference. And if we're working at that, to reframe how we look at life so that we're practicing mental sanity, that also helps our diabetes.
Because if we're anxious, if we are just, you know, like a fish out of water all over the place, what does that do to our diabetes? It doesn't do anything good, I'll tell you that much. And the blood sugars go all over the place.
We have a gentleman that's coming into the studio for an interview coming up in a few weeks. I know I promised that a few weeks ago, but he is. It's coming up. We have an interview, and he will be sharing about the effects of stress.
So we don't want that stress. That little stress monster is not a friend.
And instead, we want to learn how to be good to ourselves, say good things, do positive things, and move forward, even if it's baby steps, moving forward. Now I've got a link to the American Psychological association article on cbt. I also have a link.
Now, I'm not saying you have to go clean your house, but this was just something that also helps. Little things like this, just to give you an idea. There's this book that I just love. It's called "Clean youn House and Everything In It."
But as an idea where you're talking about behavior and small moves in a certain direction can help you feel good about yourself, this particular book literally does mean clean your house and everything in it. It's not about the massive, hey, clean your entire house. It's about. It doesn't seem like there's even a stain that.
That you can't get clean by looking in this book and finding it. I mean, this. This woman that wrote this book is brilliant. So I also put a link to that book, and it's not about the house cleaning.
It's about the feel good, the behavior, the finding a little solution. It's like the five minutes of time spent with the pet. Well, here's a.
Clean off a little spot on the counter and use that spot for a nice note to yourself to say how much you love yourself, how much you love your partner, how much you love your kids, how much you love your pet. Be good to yourself if there are any negative thoughts coming in. Practice not listening to those negative thoughts as a kid.
I had a lot of those coming in as a diabetic, and they have not helped me in the mental sanity as a diabetic. So you know what? It's time to open the door and purge that negativity. And let's go for the positive.
Let's go for the positive, and let's go for mental balance, sanity, and positivity, shall we? All right, guys, this is Deborah E. Signing off. And remember, I'm there for you here at DiabeticReal.
