For many people, when they hear a diabetes diagnosis, it can be very emotional. In this session, we discuss how to deal with these feelings, where to get support and concrete tips for recharging and dealing with burnout in the context of a chronic condition.
Speaker: Dr. Dayna Lee-Bagley, PhD, R. Psych
Speaker: Dr. Dayna Lee-Bagley, PhD, R. Psych
0:00
[Music] hello and welcome to diabetes open hours0:05
your live Q&A opportunity with experts in diabetes management and care my name0:10
is Kayla Ranka and I'll be your moderator for today I would like to start by acknowledging that I'm calling0:16
in from Toronto and that I'm located on the traditional indigenous territory of the wendat honi anishnabe and the Miss0:23
sagas of the credit and that Toronto is now home to many diverse First Nations Inuit and matey peoples0:30
as a health focused organization diabetes Canada recognizes that there is systemic racism within and throughout0:37
our institutions and that we have the responsibility and power to create culturally safe and appropriate0:44
environments of care our topic today is dealing with a diabetes diagnosis and is supported with0:51
an unrestricted educational grant from copi and while we have an expert on the0:56
call today this webinar is for educational purposes only the content discussed in this webinar is1:02
not intended to be medical advice and to the extent that medical advice is required you should consult with a1:08
qualified medical professional the information discussed in this webinar cannot replace consultations with a1:14
qualified Healthcare professional to meet your individual medical needs and lastly the views and opinions expressed1:21
in this webinar are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of diabetes1:28
Canada having said that today we are very lucky to have Dr Dana Lee Bagley1:33
with us Dr Dana is a registered clinical psychologist in British Columbia Alberta1:39
Ontario and Nova Scotia her registrations include Clinical Psychology Health psychology and1:46
organizational psychology she is the co-founder and chief scientific officer1:51
of the impact me app she has worked for almost 15 years in multidisciplinary1:57
teams on medical Surgical and C Cancer Care Hospital units and conducts research as an assistant professor in2:04
the department of family medicine with a cross appointment in the department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dal2:10
Housey University and she's an Adjunct professor in the department of psychology at St Mary's University and2:17
if that wasn't enough she is also the author of the book healthy habits suck how to get off the couch and live a2:23
healthy life even if you don't want to and I certainly feel like that's a book we could all definitely use in our lives2:31
before we get started just a few housekeeping things please note this event is being recorded and will be2:37
shared on our website and YouTube channel for on demand viewing any questions or comments that you submit2:43
via the chat function will be visible to other participants during the event but we will not share any names or record of2:49
the chat in the recording we ask that any comments or reactions you share be affirming and positive and we encourage2:56
you to discuss your learnings with your regular healthcare provider prior to making any changes to your3:01
current routine and with that are you ready to get started Dr Dana yes great thank you3:09
for joining us today and for all of you participants feel free to start putting uh your questions into the chat andTime of Diagnosis3:16
while we're waiting um why don't we start with the actual time of diagnosis3:21
so what might some of the emotions that individuals uh may feel when they hear the word diabetes from their healthcare3:27
provider um I'm sure sh probably is one of the top ones on that list yeah we know that people are going3:34
to feel you know a variety of um emotions when they first get diagnosed so that includes things like um shock it3:43
includes things like grief um confusion I think it's helpful for people to know3:48
that there are like grief is a really normal part of getting a diagnosis and3:54
it's grief over a lot of different things right grief is just a reaction to loss and that loss sometimes in includes4:00
your um ideas about the future that might be different now it includes uh potentially a loss of your identity uh4:07
loss of certain roles um that there are changes that will happen kind of throughout your life potentially uh4:13
because of that diagnosis and so that's very common for people to go through some people have heard of like the five4:19
stages of grief I think it's um important to know that there aren't actually five stages of grief and so uh4:27
what's helpful about that model is to recognize there's lots of different um emotions that show up in response to4:33
grief all of those emotions are normal and natural uh but you don't have to go through a set order of stages of grief4:42
to be um coping well with a loss um and and believing that you have to go4:48
through a certain stage you know model actually can lead to complicated grief so just about recognizing there's lots4:54
of different emotions that show up uh we talk about the three ends so notice it4:59
name it and normalize it right so recognizing you're feeling different things um you know naming it it could be5:06
sadness it could be anger it could be numbness it could be um you know a variety of different emotions and that5:12
those are all normal responses to a big change in your life like5:18
this okay great um yeah so so this grieving period we often do hear aboutGrief Management5:23
it and like you mentioned whether it's um due to you know things changing rapidly or potentially even worry about5:30
their family and now their family history has changed with the diagnosis of a a chronic medical condition as well5:36
um so do you are there specific tactics that people can use maybe to get through5:44
that time of grief and move on to you know the management stage of of a new5:49
diagnosis yeah so one of the main things we do work on with people um with a chronic disease which you know starts a5:57
diagnosis um is a term we call psychological flexibility and that's like your ability to have like a large6:03
behavioral repertoire meaning you could do lots of different things and it's really important for people experiencing6:08
a chronic disease to figure out how to be value driven instead of goal driven so our culture talks a lot about being6:14
goal driven and you know those are achievements you want to do they're outcomes that you want to have happened6:20
but we don't always control those right they're often controlled by lots of different things not just our own6:26
efforts being value driven is about how you want to show up as a human so it's not about what you want to get from the6:32
world it's about what you want to contribute to the world so whether you want to contribute creativity or kindness or compassion it's about how6:38
you want to show up and if we can um move to being value driven it gives us a6:45
much larger opportunity to do things that matter to us it's quite likely that there are things that will have to6:51
change in your life about um what you can do and but that doesn't mean you6:56
can't have a meaningful life you can for sure have a mean meaningful life it's just going to look different and frankly7:02
that's true for all humans as we grow up right it very rarely looks the way we thought it was going to look and so that7:07
psychological flexibility about being able and willing to um express your values in a different way so for example7:16
you know um perhaps uh it was a part of your role was to like make meals for7:21
everybody right and now some of the meals that you make are things that you're not supposed to eat because of your diagnosis right so we're trying to7:28
find you another way to care about your loved ones that might involve different meals or different activities but it's7:34
still an expression of your care and affection for them and so that's something that we are trying to work on7:40
with people is to be have more options for how to express your values we can always find them and the key is uh your7:47
willingness to have it look different and feel different than how you thought it was going to look or7:52
feel wow I I love that that actually spoke to me um incredibly as you know aSelfblame7:57
mom and and someone who car cares for my family via food and I can imagine that um that's a big change for people8:04
especially with a diabetes diagnosis um you know learning you have a chronic medical condition um can be8:11
hard to accept um and uh depending on how you move through that stage8:17
sometimes people move into a period of self-blame so um why did this happen to8:23
me how could I have prevented it um can you speak to that feeling a little bit and and you know some tactics maybe to8:30
help people again deal with that concept of of self-blame Y so you know we all8:36
want to recognize that we live in an environment in like you know North America that absolutely does not is not8:43
conducive to health it's not conducive to health behaviors it encourages unhealthy behaviors it's actually8:49
incredibly difficult to to do like to maintain healthy behaviors in our culture our environment just does not8:55
support that and it it's not a neutral environment it actually supports um unhealthy habits right so what we talk9:02
about this as like a compassionate reality check which is like certainly there are things that that you've done9:09
and that you could continue to do that will impact your um condition and you want to be aware of those and you want9:14
to work on those as much as possible because they you know are under your control but there's a whole bunch of9:19
other factors that lead to these diagnoses that are absolutely out of our control right there are um different9:25
rates of diabetes depending on um different like economic classes right there's differences in terms of um9:32
different um ethnicities there's differences in terms of like where you live for example uh whether rates are9:39
higher in you know one country versus another country none of those are things that we chose right we don't choose9:45
where we're born we don't choose what era we're born in we don't choose whether we're male or female and all of9:50
those things also impact our health so it's kind of a terrible thing that our culture has done to act like if you just9:57
believe in your dreams anything is possible because it sort of conveys that you have some unlimited control over10:03
your body and if you had just tried harder you could have stopped this from happening right but most of us are10:09
facing an uphill battle when it comes to health and there are all a whole bunch of factors that influence that but we10:14
actually have no control over and so we're balancing the two things which is uh there's a whole bunch of this that10:21
isn't your fault and it's your responsibility right so there's a bunch of things that you can do to help your10:27
condition and even when you're doing everything right your condition can still be Progressive it can still go up10:33
and down it doesn't mean what you're doing doesn't count doesn't matter it just means that there are some parts of10:39
our bodies we don't have control over and we live in an environment that does not help us make good choices so I once10:46
uh you know once worked with this woman who was um diagnosed with breast cancer in her 40s so I know it's a different10:51
diagnosis but kind of relates to the same idea which um you know and she just run a marathon or something like that so10:57
she was like super healthy and she was so angry right that she'd gotten this um diagnosis when she um was so healthy and11:04
she was like all my healthy habits were for nothing but we don't know that maybe she was destined to get um breast cancer11:11
in her 20s and all of her healthy habits delayed the progression until her 40s11:17
right she was definitely going to go through chemo a lot better because she was healthier the rest of her body was healthier and so there's some parts of11:23
our bodies we don't have control over we can't directly you know um change them11:28
and so you want to control the things you do have control which is your behaviors and there are lots of behaviors that will make your condition11:35
better or worse and at the same time there are parts that even when you're doing everything right you won't have11:40
control over it so getting into that shame cycle typically isn't good for people it usually like goes down a a11:47
path that actually doesn't help you make good choices it doesn't help you live a meaningful life and so we just want to11:53
recognize that again you can use our three ends of notice it name it normalize it of course it's normal to11:59
feel that way is it really going to help me if I let this be in charge of my day right and chances are it's not and so12:06
then go do something that's value driven go do something that matters to you go take care of yourself in some way and12:12
some you know easy kind of thing that you can do to remind yourself that it's an and not a but right that you can do12:19
things that influence your condition and you should and you can be doing everything right and your condition can12:25
still progress that's a great um thought and also a fantastic segue into the nextOrganizing12:32
question so you know espe specifically with a diabetes diagnosis there's a lot12:38
of things that end up needing to change um changes to the diet changes to your12:43
physical activity um treatment plans medication schedules blood sugar checks12:49
and uh all of those details take up a number of sort of points throughout a12:55
day and um for some that additional routine might be a little overwhelming13:00
so are there ways to organize or even um wrap one's mind around fitting in all13:07
these points of a treatment plan throughout the day knowing that again to your point of um value based and and13:13
moving forward through doing something positive for yourself um is now critical to one's life and well-being yeah so we13:21
try to get people to attach a value driven reason for change for making13:26
those changes a lot of people will try to make those changes um based on kind13:31
of a fear model right I don't want to have the bad outcomes that people have told me will happen with diabetes I13:38
don't want to go blind I don't want to you know um have problems with my feet and so it becomes driven by distress and13:45
that can get you going at the start but it will never keep you going because people humans don't like being in13:51
distress so if you've attached all of those healthy behaviors to distress or13:56
something bad happening to you that's what become linked in your mind right it's not a positive thing it's this14:02
dangerous thing that you're trying to prevent and so values are always about moving towards something that matters not about getting away from something14:08
bad and so um Health we actually describe as not a value it's a means to14:13
an end what will the health allow you to do so if uh being healthy gives you more energy you know if taking care of your14:20
diabetes makes you more stable or reliable if it helps you uh you know do your job better right those are the14:27
things we're looking for not even just like well I could live longer okay well if you live longer what14:33
are you going to use those extra years for why does it matter to be here on the planet and managing diabetes in14:39
particular there are things that will impact your well-being on a daily basis right so managing your blood sugars um14:45
will help you think more clearly it'll help you be more productive it'll help you be more reliable and so what matters14:52
to you and who who and what are the things that are important to you that you want to be more reliable for that you want to have a more clear head Ed14:59
you know ability to think and to be productive right whether that's your family your relationships your work it's15:04
going to help you on a day-to-day basis show up as the person you want to be and so connect it to those things that are15:10
meaningful important to you not a distress model of change the second part is you know if we think about that we15:17
have sort of a certain capacity like a battery right and that battery will get um drained and there's things that like15:24
use up that battery if you suddenly need to add in a whole bunch of health behavior15:29
it's going to use some of that battery and time in your day and so we have to actually start thinking about what am I15:35
going to give up what am I going to give to somebody else what am I not going to do to make space for these Health15:41
behaviors because they take both time and energy right um they again will help15:47
you do the things that matter think about the things that anyone could do versus the things that only you can do15:52
if anyone could do them could someone else do them for you then do they really require you to do can you save your15:58
battery for the things that are most important to you right and managing your uh diabetes will always help you show up16:05
as the person you want to be not in the future but today right now right to the people and the things that matter to you16:11
but you need to find that time by giving up other things in your life so that you have time because it actually takes you16:17
know time and energy to properly manage diabetes and so if the whole plan is I'm16:23
just going to add it on to what I currently do it's not a good strategy because most of us don't have extra hours in the day so you have to figure16:30
out what you're going to give up what you're going to delegate what you're going to not do in order to have time to16:35
manage diabetes sound advice for everyone really um quite frankly um butDepression16:42
especially for those with the additional um uh stress of sort of a chronic16:49
medical condition so we talked a bit about you know the normal feelings anger uh shock numbness kind of um things that16:57
you would naturally feel following a diagnosis but we also know that depression um is about twice as common17:03
in people with diabetes so um maybe you could share some um things to look out17:10
for um in particular with depression and what might indicate the need to get a17:16
little extra help yeah so we know that um some of these um you know mental17:21
health conditions are higher in people with chronic disease and that's in part because it's stressful to live with a17:27
chronic condition um another part that um we want people to recognize also is17:33
um diabetes distress and diabetes distress is symptoms of depression symptoms of anxiety symptoms of17:40
irritability but that are about the illness right so they're about the emotional burden of the illness the17:45
regimen stress um how it impacts your interpersonal relationships and that's17:50
almost like 50% of people with diabetes will experience those kinds of diabetes distress and so it's actually very17:57
normative and so the people who are more likely to experience depression have had a history of depression prior to18:04
diabetes um and then their risk increases when you have a chronic condition almost everybody can18:10
experience diabetes distress because it's actually a normal response to this new stressor in your life and so um I18:18
generally say that when you feel stuck that's a good time to get help like when you feel stuck in depression when you18:23
feel stuck in anxiety uh when it's taking over your life when it's making the decisions about what to do instead18:30
of you then that's a good time to get help uh it's important for people both18:35
to get help about depression but also about diabetes distress because standard treatments for depression will not take18:42
into account the fact that you have this chronic condition that is generating a huge amount of stress in your life that18:47
you can't make go away right it's not a you know in classic therapy they look18:52
for like a distortion and you know overestimation of risk or you know perceptions of feeling hopeless about18:58
the future but some of that actually is uh entirely normative when you're facing19:04
a chronic condition that will you know potentially impair the rest of your life or at least have an impact on your life19:10
and so we want people to recognize that treating diabetes to stress requires19:16
recognition of this stressor in your life right um that it's using up some battery and it's important to think19:22
about and you know has a variable Progressive course sometimes for people and uh and that's typically a different19:29
intervention than what people get when they get um treatment for major depressive disorder for example or an19:34
anxiety disorder and so um you know both can be helpful if you have both but also19:41
you know we should probably have more services for diabetes distress embedded within Diabetes Care not something19:47
separate that you go to mental health clinic to go get that treated it should be integrated into Diabetes19:55
Care yes I agree and and um the concept of self- advocacy is also an importantStress and Distress20:01
one I'm just going to pause for a second and encourage any participants to post questions in the chat and our digital20:08
man manager will get those over to us um but back on to the topic of stress and20:14
distress um do you have any tips for recharging or letting go of that stress when you're dealing with um a diabetes20:21
diagnosis so we talk about that there's like three main forms of coping so one form of coping is problem Focus scoping20:28
and this is very effective when you can get rid of the stressor right so um so20:34
for example lots of us go through our work life using problem Focus coping there's an email you have to send20:39
there's a paper you have to write those are technically like solvable stressors if you work harder at it you can you20:45
know um get rid of that stressor of course in Modern Life something's always there to take its place right but in20:51
theory they're solvable stressors um that strategy often is helpful when you20:57
think about health behaviors about trying harder about health behaviors but it doesn't by definition your diabetes21:04
can't be fixed or made to go away right and so we actually need a different type of coping called emotion Focus coping21:11
and emotion Focus coping is helpful um when the stressor can't be eliminated and it's about dealing with the emotions21:18
that show up as a result of a stressor that can't be removed and so um that's21:24
an important skill to develop when you have a chronic condition because by defition it's not going away it's21:29
something we have to continuously manage and um lots of people don't have21:34
that skill set because it's not one we really teach well in our culture we focus so much on problem Focus coping21:40
and trying to apply problem Focus coping to your chronic disease will actually in some cases make you feel worse because21:46
you're trying so hard and it's still not doing what you want it to do it doesn't mean that your um efforts don't matter21:52
or don't count but it's just that there's some aspects of our bodies we don't have direct control over and so uh21:58
we need to help people learn those emotion focused coping skills the third form of coping is relationship focused22:03
coping that's about managing and maintaining relationships during times of stress and so we're often trying to22:10
help people expand their coping toolbox with emotion focused coping and22:15
relationship focused coping uh because those are necessary to deal with a chronic22:24
disease I forgot I was on mute you think I've learned by now um okay soBurnout22:32
burnout um definitely you know stress distress um the treatment plans for22:38
managing diabetes can be very real for both people living with diabetes as well22:43
as their care providers um in terms of just getting to that point where it's22:49
too much so um how can individuals deal with this burnout related to chronic22:55
disease management um and optimally obviously in a in a positive way yeah so23:01
I mean we actually know that in general everyone's really burnt out like any statistic that you look at um basically23:09
uh looks sees that the rates of uh burnout are increasing basically for everybody right this is um a bigger23:17
concern when you have a chronic disease because there's an extra Demand on your battery right the chronic disease is23:22
using up some of your battery and so you have less battery to play with and so this is one of like the main things we23:28
work on with people across the Spectrum um is managing burnout one of the things we want to23:34
think about is that that battery um you know that that energy is a fixed amount and it's it's like a battery so we will23:40
use it up so you want to think about recharging activities right a recharging activity is something that makes you23:46
feel more energetic at the end than when you started so it's not necessarily the same thing as a healthy habit right if23:52
going for a walk makes you feel angry and irritated then it's not a recharging activity even if it's a healthy habit it23:58
so some of the ones I've heard people share are things like drumming gardening cuddling with a pet right and they're24:05
really we're looking for opportunities for Joy opportunities for things that make you smile and so we want to think24:10
about recharging that battery and again on a daily basis like think of how often you charge your cell phone if you have a24:16
chronic disease it means that that part of that battery is being used for your chronic disease and so you have less24:22
battery to play with and again in our culture we kind of act like if you just try harder you can do more but it's a24:28
fixed amount and so if it's a fixed amount you want to think about if I'm spending it on this then you know means24:34
you can't spend it on that right we can't just plan to have more and more energy and so thinking about where are24:40
you spending your battery is that how you want to spend your battery what things are draining your battery what24:45
things are charging your battery everyone has things in their lives that are just drains sometimes people but24:51
sometimes activities right that are just drains on your battery and we just need to take that into account but we want to24:56
make time for the charges we want to make time for opportunities you know for Joy for opportunities to smile um and to25:03
really think about that battery management um it becomes a big deal in chronic disease when we talk about25:09
pacing so pacing is about recognizing uh how much energy you have25:14
and matching your activities to that and so what often people will kind of do is wake up and decide like how am I feeling25:21
today and that sort of decides what they can get done or not get done but when you do it that way you're at the mercy25:26
of your illness right it's the illness deciding what you get to do that day pacing is about deciding how much25:32
activity you can do even on a bad day and keeping the activity level constant even if your condition is going up and25:39
down um and so it actually makes us feel more empowered because it doesn't matter how we feel today we can do this amount25:46
of activity and so it makes us more reliable more dependable you don't have to cancel things as often but you're25:52
often having to um you know it it's less than what you would like it to be right right and so again deciding what you25:59
want to spend your battery on that's most valuable and often the hardest part of pacing is actually holding back on a26:05
good day right so people you know have a good day and they're like oh who knows when I'm going to have another good day I better do everything but then they26:11
overdo it uh and then they kind of pay for it for a few days right and so holding back on a good day when you feel26:18
good saving the battery for tomorrow is actually a key skill in pacing and so um26:24
we also talk about adding extra batteries to the system right when you have a chronic disease a really important skill is learning to26:31
ask for and accept help um and because you have less battery because of your chronic disease so we often need to add26:37
more batteries meaning we need friends and family your your health care providers can be part of you know that26:44
Village of support it could be Community groups it could be your church it could be work friends but you're going to need26:51
some extra batteries and so you know our culture again kind of our dominant Western culture kind of says that um26:57
it's bad to depend on other people but actually that's the highest like functioning human is someone who is27:03
connected to a village who is part of you know feels connected to Safe trusting other people and so the27:10
opposite of Independence isn't dependence it's connection right and so27:15
it's and we often you know feel lonely the loneliness epidemic right um and27:21
that's partly because we've overemphasized Independence and we're sacrificing connection as a result and27:27
so figuring out how to ask for and accept help means how do you add extra batteries to the system and sometimes27:33
people are glad to help you right sometimes it's actually way more difficult to watch someone you care27:38
about not accept help right and watch them struggle when they're refusing your help it's not a zero sum game sometimes27:45
both people feel better when you accept help from somebody else yes yeah that Circle of support is27:51
so important in so many ways um including uh when you have diabetes um27:57
if someone is finding things overwhelming um are there places where28:03
they can go for further help or to find support yes so you know we know that um28:09
basically there's not enough mental health providers for the need right now right um whether we're talking about um28:17
mental health support for people with chronic disease or for other you know just living in our crazy world we live28:23
in now right um so there's not enough um resources for that and so we often are28:28
you know um looking to how we can create scalable options to help people access28:34
you know more care and so those are some of the things that we work on um in our company is how can we offer better28:40
access to um science-based information right more scalable um that's like high28:46
quality information that people that can help people and so there are some of28:51
those options now emerging sort of like online tools as well as you know um28:57
mobile app tools uh we have one that's working on burnout but we will eventually be adding courses on chronic29:04
disease as well as special you know add-on modules for diabetes and heart29:09
disease and other um chronic conditions um and we try to embed the science of behavior change into those um apps so29:17
that it's actually helping you on a daily basis support the difficult you know um behaviors of being healthy uh29:24
there are you know online resources through government of Canada sometimes your provincial government you know29:30
again has um opted into uh you know mobile or Technology Solutions for uh29:37
mental health and so looking into those as options for extra help if you are working you might have an employee29:44
assistance program that you could access um so like wellness together is a government based one that um people can29:51
access for mental health support and then Community groups uh patient advocacy groups like diabetes Canada29:58
those kinds of groups as well because it really helps to have connection with other people who get it right who know30:04
what you're going through um that really can help us cope as well no that's great and um Dr DanaFeedback30:11
provided some links to a few um uh30:16
organizations and the impact me app that um our digital manager will pop into the30:21
chat for you so I don't see any more questions coming in um so maybe will we30:27
will wrap this up but before I ask you one last question um we're going to pop30:34
a brief evaluation into the chat if you could kindly take a minute to provide us with some feedback so we can continue to30:40
learn grow and better meet your needs that would be great um also if you have30:46
any ideas on future topics feel free to pop those in the chat as well we're always open to uh ideas on how to meet30:53
the needs of our uh group of um people living with diabetes so the last30:59
question is really generic and just wondering if we haven't covered something in particular or if you have31:04
any parting words of wisdoms regarding a new diagnosis um so in the chat we also IElevator Pitch31:12
think provided information about a research study that we're doing that lots of people might be eligible for and so it's about Wellness um for uh people31:19
living with chronic disease and so you can actually access a program for free for the 12we program that includes31:26
psychology support or as well as other supports um if you are you know interested in participating in the31:32
research so that's also available the last part I'll just talk about is um having an elevator pitch about your31:38
illness um or your condition so an elevator pitch is you know if you only had the length of an elevator ride to31:44
give somebody information that's kind of what an elevator pitch is about and so it's helpful you know when you have a31:49
new diagnosis or you go into a new environment to have an elevator pitch about your condition you don't actually31:55
have to give the diagnosis right uh sometimes what's more meaningful is to give the symptoms that might impact that32:02
environment so for example in your workplace you don't necessarily have to say I have diabetes but you could say I32:08
have a health condition that sometimes means I need to take more breaks or I need to manage my diet differently right32:15
um because those are the things that might impact your workday for example right um and then you can always you32:21
know end the conversation meaning that people might ask you more questions and you can simply say um you know that's32:27
all I'd like to share for now but thanks so much for your concern right it's a lovely way to end it thanks so much for32:32
your concern right uh people often will give you all kinds of tips and suggestions you should do this you should do that and often you know32:39
they're not appropriate for you or they're not the nuanced things that individuals need and again you just32:44
thank them for their concern and go about your day we don't have to get into arguments with them about you know32:50
whether that's an appropriate like course of action or not um but it's helpful if you have a chronic condition32:56
to let people know because it will probably impact you it might impact your relationships it might impact how you33:02
show up and you want people to attribute your behavior to your health condition and not that you don't care about things33:08
or it's not important in lots of workplaces there are accommodations if people need to provide if you have a33:14
health condition uh which can help you manage your um illness better um often33:20
you know planning for more breaks planning for time off can be helpful um33:26
rather than kind of waiting for it to be a crisis and then having to go off and so those are things that you can have33:31
conversations with your workplace uh to talk about those things um and uh and33:37
again and then having an elevator pitch with everybody else that you talk to so again you don't you don't have to give33:42
them all the details you don't even have to give them the diagnosis but just to let them know that you have a health condition that like impacts you or33:49
impacts you know um your daily behaviors or things like that so that they understand that there's a reason for33:54
your behavior and sometimes you have to remind people that even your loved ones right they'll forget about you know the34:01
condition and not because they don't care about you right just sometimes you need to remind them and then sometimes34:06
we need to give permission to people to not talk about it right it's okay to not talk about it sometimes they always want34:11
to talk about it sometimes they'll forget to talk about it and so we just have to communicate more um and and34:17
describe what's happening and be okay with that because um they're not things that we kind of um are good at at34:25
managing and so we we need some extra help with that sometimes yeah that's that's great advice and also I think tooOutro34:32
the the more we talk about it and the more it is open and out there the less stigmas associated with it as well which34:39
I know um is a whole other topic for another day um okay well no more questions34:46
coming in so I guess we've come to the end of our time um thank you for taking34:51
time out of your busy schedules to join us today um taking time for ourselves and our personal care care is never easy34:58
but so important and um definitely worth it uh in the long run if you haven't35:04
filled in the evaluation please consider doing so now the link can be found in the chat and with that a a big thank you35:12
uh to Dr Dana Our Guest expert today I know I learned a lot and I'm sure you did as well um there was a lot of great35:20
advice in there for um just healthy living in general um without the35:26
generosity of your time Dr Dana our open hours would not be possible so thank you again and thanks everyone for joining us35:33
today on Facebook live open hours runs the last week of every other month with a different topic and guest expert so be35:40
sure to follow us on social or visit the website regularly for updates to learn more and stay up toate on Diabetes35:47
Canada's work and resources you can visit our website at35:55
dibs.com ledin and the platform formally known as Twitter you can also call our36:02
info team at 1 1800 Banting that's 1 1800b n TI n or email info@36:19
diabetes.com and guest for our next conversation and with that thank you36:25
have a great day and we'll see you36:32
again
[Music] hello and welcome to diabetes open hours0:05
your live Q&A opportunity with experts in diabetes management and care my name0:10
is Kayla Ranka and I'll be your moderator for today I would like to start by acknowledging that I'm calling0:16
in from Toronto and that I'm located on the traditional indigenous territory of the wendat honi anishnabe and the Miss0:23
sagas of the credit and that Toronto is now home to many diverse First Nations Inuit and matey peoples0:30
as a health focused organization diabetes Canada recognizes that there is systemic racism within and throughout0:37
our institutions and that we have the responsibility and power to create culturally safe and appropriate0:44
environments of care our topic today is dealing with a diabetes diagnosis and is supported with0:51
an unrestricted educational grant from copi and while we have an expert on the0:56
call today this webinar is for educational purposes only the content discussed in this webinar is1:02
not intended to be medical advice and to the extent that medical advice is required you should consult with a1:08
qualified medical professional the information discussed in this webinar cannot replace consultations with a1:14
qualified Healthcare professional to meet your individual medical needs and lastly the views and opinions expressed1:21
in this webinar are those of the speaker and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of diabetes1:28
Canada having said that today we are very lucky to have Dr Dana Lee Bagley1:33
with us Dr Dana is a registered clinical psychologist in British Columbia Alberta1:39
Ontario and Nova Scotia her registrations include Clinical Psychology Health psychology and1:46
organizational psychology she is the co-founder and chief scientific officer1:51
of the impact me app she has worked for almost 15 years in multidisciplinary1:57
teams on medical Surgical and C Cancer Care Hospital units and conducts research as an assistant professor in2:04
the department of family medicine with a cross appointment in the department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dal2:10
Housey University and she's an Adjunct professor in the department of psychology at St Mary's University and2:17
if that wasn't enough she is also the author of the book healthy habits suck how to get off the couch and live a2:23
healthy life even if you don't want to and I certainly feel like that's a book we could all definitely use in our lives2:31
before we get started just a few housekeeping things please note this event is being recorded and will be2:37
shared on our website and YouTube channel for on demand viewing any questions or comments that you submit2:43
via the chat function will be visible to other participants during the event but we will not share any names or record of2:49
the chat in the recording we ask that any comments or reactions you share be affirming and positive and we encourage2:56
you to discuss your learnings with your regular healthcare provider prior to making any changes to your3:01
current routine and with that are you ready to get started Dr Dana yes great thank you3:09
for joining us today and for all of you participants feel free to start putting uh your questions into the chat andTime of Diagnosis3:16
while we're waiting um why don't we start with the actual time of diagnosis3:21
so what might some of the emotions that individuals uh may feel when they hear the word diabetes from their healthcare3:27
provider um I'm sure sh probably is one of the top ones on that list yeah we know that people are going3:34
to feel you know a variety of um emotions when they first get diagnosed so that includes things like um shock it3:43
includes things like grief um confusion I think it's helpful for people to know3:48
that there are like grief is a really normal part of getting a diagnosis and3:54
it's grief over a lot of different things right grief is just a reaction to loss and that loss sometimes in includes4:00
your um ideas about the future that might be different now it includes uh potentially a loss of your identity uh4:07
loss of certain roles um that there are changes that will happen kind of throughout your life potentially uh4:13
because of that diagnosis and so that's very common for people to go through some people have heard of like the five4:19
stages of grief I think it's um important to know that there aren't actually five stages of grief and so uh4:27
what's helpful about that model is to recognize there's lots of different um emotions that show up in response to4:33
grief all of those emotions are normal and natural uh but you don't have to go through a set order of stages of grief4:42
to be um coping well with a loss um and and believing that you have to go4:48
through a certain stage you know model actually can lead to complicated grief so just about recognizing there's lots4:54
of different emotions that show up uh we talk about the three ends so notice it4:59
name it and normalize it right so recognizing you're feeling different things um you know naming it it could be5:06
sadness it could be anger it could be numbness it could be um you know a variety of different emotions and that5:12
those are all normal responses to a big change in your life like5:18
this okay great um yeah so so this grieving period we often do hear aboutGrief Management5:23
it and like you mentioned whether it's um due to you know things changing rapidly or potentially even worry about5:30
their family and now their family history has changed with the diagnosis of a a chronic medical condition as well5:36
um so do you are there specific tactics that people can use maybe to get through5:44
that time of grief and move on to you know the management stage of of a new5:49
diagnosis yeah so one of the main things we do work on with people um with a chronic disease which you know starts a5:57
diagnosis um is a term we call psychological flexibility and that's like your ability to have like a large6:03
behavioral repertoire meaning you could do lots of different things and it's really important for people experiencing6:08
a chronic disease to figure out how to be value driven instead of goal driven so our culture talks a lot about being6:14
goal driven and you know those are achievements you want to do they're outcomes that you want to have happened6:20
but we don't always control those right they're often controlled by lots of different things not just our own6:26
efforts being value driven is about how you want to show up as a human so it's not about what you want to get from the6:32
world it's about what you want to contribute to the world so whether you want to contribute creativity or kindness or compassion it's about how6:38
you want to show up and if we can um move to being value driven it gives us a6:45
much larger opportunity to do things that matter to us it's quite likely that there are things that will have to6:51
change in your life about um what you can do and but that doesn't mean you6:56
can't have a meaningful life you can for sure have a mean meaningful life it's just going to look different and frankly7:02
that's true for all humans as we grow up right it very rarely looks the way we thought it was going to look and so that7:07
psychological flexibility about being able and willing to um express your values in a different way so for example7:16
you know um perhaps uh it was a part of your role was to like make meals for7:21
everybody right and now some of the meals that you make are things that you're not supposed to eat because of your diagnosis right so we're trying to7:28
find you another way to care about your loved ones that might involve different meals or different activities but it's7:34
still an expression of your care and affection for them and so that's something that we are trying to work on7:40
with people is to be have more options for how to express your values we can always find them and the key is uh your7:47
willingness to have it look different and feel different than how you thought it was going to look or7:52
feel wow I I love that that actually spoke to me um incredibly as you know aSelfblame7:57
mom and and someone who car cares for my family via food and I can imagine that um that's a big change for people8:04
especially with a diabetes diagnosis um you know learning you have a chronic medical condition um can be8:11
hard to accept um and uh depending on how you move through that stage8:17
sometimes people move into a period of self-blame so um why did this happen to8:23
me how could I have prevented it um can you speak to that feeling a little bit and and you know some tactics maybe to8:30
help people again deal with that concept of of self-blame Y so you know we all8:36
want to recognize that we live in an environment in like you know North America that absolutely does not is not8:43
conducive to health it's not conducive to health behaviors it encourages unhealthy behaviors it's actually8:49
incredibly difficult to to do like to maintain healthy behaviors in our culture our environment just does not8:55
support that and it it's not a neutral environment it actually supports um unhealthy habits right so what we talk9:02
about this as like a compassionate reality check which is like certainly there are things that that you've done9:09
and that you could continue to do that will impact your um condition and you want to be aware of those and you want9:14
to work on those as much as possible because they you know are under your control but there's a whole bunch of9:19
other factors that lead to these diagnoses that are absolutely out of our control right there are um different9:25
rates of diabetes depending on um different like economic classes right there's differences in terms of um9:32
different um ethnicities there's differences in terms of like where you live for example uh whether rates are9:39
higher in you know one country versus another country none of those are things that we chose right we don't choose9:45
where we're born we don't choose what era we're born in we don't choose whether we're male or female and all of9:50
those things also impact our health so it's kind of a terrible thing that our culture has done to act like if you just9:57
believe in your dreams anything is possible because it sort of conveys that you have some unlimited control over10:03
your body and if you had just tried harder you could have stopped this from happening right but most of us are10:09
facing an uphill battle when it comes to health and there are all a whole bunch of factors that influence that but we10:14
actually have no control over and so we're balancing the two things which is uh there's a whole bunch of this that10:21
isn't your fault and it's your responsibility right so there's a bunch of things that you can do to help your10:27
condition and even when you're doing everything right your condition can still be Progressive it can still go up10:33
and down it doesn't mean what you're doing doesn't count doesn't matter it just means that there are some parts of10:39
our bodies we don't have control over and we live in an environment that does not help us make good choices so I once10:46
uh you know once worked with this woman who was um diagnosed with breast cancer in her 40s so I know it's a different10:51
diagnosis but kind of relates to the same idea which um you know and she just run a marathon or something like that so10:57
she was like super healthy and she was so angry right that she'd gotten this um diagnosis when she um was so healthy and11:04
she was like all my healthy habits were for nothing but we don't know that maybe she was destined to get um breast cancer11:11
in her 20s and all of her healthy habits delayed the progression until her 40s11:17
right she was definitely going to go through chemo a lot better because she was healthier the rest of her body was healthier and so there's some parts of11:23
our bodies we don't have control over we can't directly you know um change them11:28
and so you want to control the things you do have control which is your behaviors and there are lots of behaviors that will make your condition11:35
better or worse and at the same time there are parts that even when you're doing everything right you won't have11:40
control over it so getting into that shame cycle typically isn't good for people it usually like goes down a a11:47
path that actually doesn't help you make good choices it doesn't help you live a meaningful life and so we just want to11:53
recognize that again you can use our three ends of notice it name it normalize it of course it's normal to11:59
feel that way is it really going to help me if I let this be in charge of my day right and chances are it's not and so12:06
then go do something that's value driven go do something that matters to you go take care of yourself in some way and12:12
some you know easy kind of thing that you can do to remind yourself that it's an and not a but right that you can do12:19
things that influence your condition and you should and you can be doing everything right and your condition can12:25
still progress that's a great um thought and also a fantastic segue into the nextOrganizing12:32
question so you know espe specifically with a diabetes diagnosis there's a lot12:38
of things that end up needing to change um changes to the diet changes to your12:43
physical activity um treatment plans medication schedules blood sugar checks12:49
and uh all of those details take up a number of sort of points throughout a12:55
day and um for some that additional routine might be a little overwhelming13:00
so are there ways to organize or even um wrap one's mind around fitting in all13:07
these points of a treatment plan throughout the day knowing that again to your point of um value based and and13:13
moving forward through doing something positive for yourself um is now critical to one's life and well-being yeah so we13:21
try to get people to attach a value driven reason for change for making13:26
those changes a lot of people will try to make those changes um based on kind13:31
of a fear model right I don't want to have the bad outcomes that people have told me will happen with diabetes I13:38
don't want to go blind I don't want to you know um have problems with my feet and so it becomes driven by distress and13:45
that can get you going at the start but it will never keep you going because people humans don't like being in13:51
distress so if you've attached all of those healthy behaviors to distress or13:56
something bad happening to you that's what become linked in your mind right it's not a positive thing it's this14:02
dangerous thing that you're trying to prevent and so values are always about moving towards something that matters not about getting away from something14:08
bad and so um Health we actually describe as not a value it's a means to14:13
an end what will the health allow you to do so if uh being healthy gives you more energy you know if taking care of your14:20
diabetes makes you more stable or reliable if it helps you uh you know do your job better right those are the14:27
things we're looking for not even just like well I could live longer okay well if you live longer what14:33
are you going to use those extra years for why does it matter to be here on the planet and managing diabetes in14:39
particular there are things that will impact your well-being on a daily basis right so managing your blood sugars um14:45
will help you think more clearly it'll help you be more productive it'll help you be more reliable and so what matters14:52
to you and who who and what are the things that are important to you that you want to be more reliable for that you want to have a more clear head Ed14:59
you know ability to think and to be productive right whether that's your family your relationships your work it's15:04
going to help you on a day-to-day basis show up as the person you want to be and so connect it to those things that are15:10
meaningful important to you not a distress model of change the second part is you know if we think about that we15:17
have sort of a certain capacity like a battery right and that battery will get um drained and there's things that like15:24
use up that battery if you suddenly need to add in a whole bunch of health behavior15:29
it's going to use some of that battery and time in your day and so we have to actually start thinking about what am I15:35
going to give up what am I going to give to somebody else what am I not going to do to make space for these Health15:41
behaviors because they take both time and energy right um they again will help15:47
you do the things that matter think about the things that anyone could do versus the things that only you can do15:52
if anyone could do them could someone else do them for you then do they really require you to do can you save your15:58
battery for the things that are most important to you right and managing your uh diabetes will always help you show up16:05
as the person you want to be not in the future but today right now right to the people and the things that matter to you16:11
but you need to find that time by giving up other things in your life so that you have time because it actually takes you16:17
know time and energy to properly manage diabetes and so if the whole plan is I'm16:23
just going to add it on to what I currently do it's not a good strategy because most of us don't have extra hours in the day so you have to figure16:30
out what you're going to give up what you're going to delegate what you're going to not do in order to have time to16:35
manage diabetes sound advice for everyone really um quite frankly um butDepression16:42
especially for those with the additional um uh stress of sort of a chronic16:49
medical condition so we talked a bit about you know the normal feelings anger uh shock numbness kind of um things that16:57
you would naturally feel following a diagnosis but we also know that depression um is about twice as common17:03
in people with diabetes so um maybe you could share some um things to look out17:10
for um in particular with depression and what might indicate the need to get a17:16
little extra help yeah so we know that um some of these um you know mental17:21
health conditions are higher in people with chronic disease and that's in part because it's stressful to live with a17:27
chronic condition um another part that um we want people to recognize also is17:33
um diabetes distress and diabetes distress is symptoms of depression symptoms of anxiety symptoms of17:40
irritability but that are about the illness right so they're about the emotional burden of the illness the17:45
regimen stress um how it impacts your interpersonal relationships and that's17:50
almost like 50% of people with diabetes will experience those kinds of diabetes distress and so it's actually very17:57
normative and so the people who are more likely to experience depression have had a history of depression prior to18:04
diabetes um and then their risk increases when you have a chronic condition almost everybody can18:10
experience diabetes distress because it's actually a normal response to this new stressor in your life and so um I18:18
generally say that when you feel stuck that's a good time to get help like when you feel stuck in depression when you18:23
feel stuck in anxiety uh when it's taking over your life when it's making the decisions about what to do instead18:30
of you then that's a good time to get help uh it's important for people both18:35
to get help about depression but also about diabetes distress because standard treatments for depression will not take18:42
into account the fact that you have this chronic condition that is generating a huge amount of stress in your life that18:47
you can't make go away right it's not a you know in classic therapy they look18:52
for like a distortion and you know overestimation of risk or you know perceptions of feeling hopeless about18:58
the future but some of that actually is uh entirely normative when you're facing19:04
a chronic condition that will you know potentially impair the rest of your life or at least have an impact on your life19:10
and so we want people to recognize that treating diabetes to stress requires19:16
recognition of this stressor in your life right um that it's using up some battery and it's important to think19:22
about and you know has a variable Progressive course sometimes for people and uh and that's typically a different19:29
intervention than what people get when they get um treatment for major depressive disorder for example or an19:34
anxiety disorder and so um you know both can be helpful if you have both but also19:41
you know we should probably have more services for diabetes distress embedded within Diabetes Care not something19:47
separate that you go to mental health clinic to go get that treated it should be integrated into Diabetes19:55
Care yes I agree and and um the concept of self- advocacy is also an importantStress and Distress20:01
one I'm just going to pause for a second and encourage any participants to post questions in the chat and our digital20:08
man manager will get those over to us um but back on to the topic of stress and20:14
distress um do you have any tips for recharging or letting go of that stress when you're dealing with um a diabetes20:21
diagnosis so we talk about that there's like three main forms of coping so one form of coping is problem Focus scoping20:28
and this is very effective when you can get rid of the stressor right so um so20:34
for example lots of us go through our work life using problem Focus coping there's an email you have to send20:39
there's a paper you have to write those are technically like solvable stressors if you work harder at it you can you20:45
know um get rid of that stressor of course in Modern Life something's always there to take its place right but in20:51
theory they're solvable stressors um that strategy often is helpful when you20:57
think about health behaviors about trying harder about health behaviors but it doesn't by definition your diabetes21:04
can't be fixed or made to go away right and so we actually need a different type of coping called emotion Focus coping21:11
and emotion Focus coping is helpful um when the stressor can't be eliminated and it's about dealing with the emotions21:18
that show up as a result of a stressor that can't be removed and so um that's21:24
an important skill to develop when you have a chronic condition because by defition it's not going away it's21:29
something we have to continuously manage and um lots of people don't have21:34
that skill set because it's not one we really teach well in our culture we focus so much on problem Focus coping21:40
and trying to apply problem Focus coping to your chronic disease will actually in some cases make you feel worse because21:46
you're trying so hard and it's still not doing what you want it to do it doesn't mean that your um efforts don't matter21:52
or don't count but it's just that there's some aspects of our bodies we don't have direct control over and so uh21:58
we need to help people learn those emotion focused coping skills the third form of coping is relationship focused22:03
coping that's about managing and maintaining relationships during times of stress and so we're often trying to22:10
help people expand their coping toolbox with emotion focused coping and22:15
relationship focused coping uh because those are necessary to deal with a chronic22:24
disease I forgot I was on mute you think I've learned by now um okay soBurnout22:32
burnout um definitely you know stress distress um the treatment plans for22:38
managing diabetes can be very real for both people living with diabetes as well22:43
as their care providers um in terms of just getting to that point where it's22:49
too much so um how can individuals deal with this burnout related to chronic22:55
disease management um and optimally obviously in a in a positive way yeah so23:01
I mean we actually know that in general everyone's really burnt out like any statistic that you look at um basically23:09
uh looks sees that the rates of uh burnout are increasing basically for everybody right this is um a bigger23:17
concern when you have a chronic disease because there's an extra Demand on your battery right the chronic disease is23:22
using up some of your battery and so you have less battery to play with and so this is one of like the main things we23:28
work on with people across the Spectrum um is managing burnout one of the things we want to23:34
think about is that that battery um you know that that energy is a fixed amount and it's it's like a battery so we will23:40
use it up so you want to think about recharging activities right a recharging activity is something that makes you23:46
feel more energetic at the end than when you started so it's not necessarily the same thing as a healthy habit right if23:52
going for a walk makes you feel angry and irritated then it's not a recharging activity even if it's a healthy habit it23:58
so some of the ones I've heard people share are things like drumming gardening cuddling with a pet right and they're24:05
really we're looking for opportunities for Joy opportunities for things that make you smile and so we want to think24:10
about recharging that battery and again on a daily basis like think of how often you charge your cell phone if you have a24:16
chronic disease it means that that part of that battery is being used for your chronic disease and so you have less24:22
battery to play with and again in our culture we kind of act like if you just try harder you can do more but it's a24:28
fixed amount and so if it's a fixed amount you want to think about if I'm spending it on this then you know means24:34
you can't spend it on that right we can't just plan to have more and more energy and so thinking about where are24:40
you spending your battery is that how you want to spend your battery what things are draining your battery what24:45
things are charging your battery everyone has things in their lives that are just drains sometimes people but24:51
sometimes activities right that are just drains on your battery and we just need to take that into account but we want to24:56
make time for the charges we want to make time for opportunities you know for Joy for opportunities to smile um and to25:03
really think about that battery management um it becomes a big deal in chronic disease when we talk about25:09
pacing so pacing is about recognizing uh how much energy you have25:14
and matching your activities to that and so what often people will kind of do is wake up and decide like how am I feeling25:21
today and that sort of decides what they can get done or not get done but when you do it that way you're at the mercy25:26
of your illness right it's the illness deciding what you get to do that day pacing is about deciding how much25:32
activity you can do even on a bad day and keeping the activity level constant even if your condition is going up and25:39
down um and so it actually makes us feel more empowered because it doesn't matter how we feel today we can do this amount25:46
of activity and so it makes us more reliable more dependable you don't have to cancel things as often but you're25:52
often having to um you know it it's less than what you would like it to be right right and so again deciding what you25:59
want to spend your battery on that's most valuable and often the hardest part of pacing is actually holding back on a26:05
good day right so people you know have a good day and they're like oh who knows when I'm going to have another good day I better do everything but then they26:11
overdo it uh and then they kind of pay for it for a few days right and so holding back on a good day when you feel26:18
good saving the battery for tomorrow is actually a key skill in pacing and so um26:24
we also talk about adding extra batteries to the system right when you have a chronic disease a really important skill is learning to26:31
ask for and accept help um and because you have less battery because of your chronic disease so we often need to add26:37
more batteries meaning we need friends and family your your health care providers can be part of you know that26:44
Village of support it could be Community groups it could be your church it could be work friends but you're going to need26:51
some extra batteries and so you know our culture again kind of our dominant Western culture kind of says that um26:57
it's bad to depend on other people but actually that's the highest like functioning human is someone who is27:03
connected to a village who is part of you know feels connected to Safe trusting other people and so the27:10
opposite of Independence isn't dependence it's connection right and so27:15
it's and we often you know feel lonely the loneliness epidemic right um and27:21
that's partly because we've overemphasized Independence and we're sacrificing connection as a result and27:27
so figuring out how to ask for and accept help means how do you add extra batteries to the system and sometimes27:33
people are glad to help you right sometimes it's actually way more difficult to watch someone you care27:38
about not accept help right and watch them struggle when they're refusing your help it's not a zero sum game sometimes27:45
both people feel better when you accept help from somebody else yes yeah that Circle of support is27:51
so important in so many ways um including uh when you have diabetes um27:57
if someone is finding things overwhelming um are there places where28:03
they can go for further help or to find support yes so you know we know that um28:09
basically there's not enough mental health providers for the need right now right um whether we're talking about um28:17
mental health support for people with chronic disease or for other you know just living in our crazy world we live28:23
in now right um so there's not enough um resources for that and so we often are28:28
you know um looking to how we can create scalable options to help people access28:34
you know more care and so those are some of the things that we work on um in our company is how can we offer better28:40
access to um science-based information right more scalable um that's like high28:46
quality information that people that can help people and so there are some of28:51
those options now emerging sort of like online tools as well as you know um28:57
mobile app tools uh we have one that's working on burnout but we will eventually be adding courses on chronic29:04
disease as well as special you know add-on modules for diabetes and heart29:09
disease and other um chronic conditions um and we try to embed the science of behavior change into those um apps so29:17
that it's actually helping you on a daily basis support the difficult you know um behaviors of being healthy uh29:24
there are you know online resources through government of Canada sometimes your provincial government you know29:30
again has um opted into uh you know mobile or Technology Solutions for uh29:37
mental health and so looking into those as options for extra help if you are working you might have an employee29:44
assistance program that you could access um so like wellness together is a government based one that um people can29:51
access for mental health support and then Community groups uh patient advocacy groups like diabetes Canada29:58
those kinds of groups as well because it really helps to have connection with other people who get it right who know30:04
what you're going through um that really can help us cope as well no that's great and um Dr DanaFeedback30:11
provided some links to a few um uh30:16
organizations and the impact me app that um our digital manager will pop into the30:21
chat for you so I don't see any more questions coming in um so maybe will we30:27
will wrap this up but before I ask you one last question um we're going to pop30:34
a brief evaluation into the chat if you could kindly take a minute to provide us with some feedback so we can continue to30:40
learn grow and better meet your needs that would be great um also if you have30:46
any ideas on future topics feel free to pop those in the chat as well we're always open to uh ideas on how to meet30:53
the needs of our uh group of um people living with diabetes so the last30:59
question is really generic and just wondering if we haven't covered something in particular or if you have31:04
any parting words of wisdoms regarding a new diagnosis um so in the chat we also IElevator Pitch31:12
think provided information about a research study that we're doing that lots of people might be eligible for and so it's about Wellness um for uh people31:19
living with chronic disease and so you can actually access a program for free for the 12we program that includes31:26
psychology support or as well as other supports um if you are you know interested in participating in the31:32
research so that's also available the last part I'll just talk about is um having an elevator pitch about your31:38
illness um or your condition so an elevator pitch is you know if you only had the length of an elevator ride to31:44
give somebody information that's kind of what an elevator pitch is about and so it's helpful you know when you have a31:49
new diagnosis or you go into a new environment to have an elevator pitch about your condition you don't actually31:55
have to give the diagnosis right uh sometimes what's more meaningful is to give the symptoms that might impact that32:02
environment so for example in your workplace you don't necessarily have to say I have diabetes but you could say I32:08
have a health condition that sometimes means I need to take more breaks or I need to manage my diet differently right32:15
um because those are the things that might impact your workday for example right um and then you can always you32:21
know end the conversation meaning that people might ask you more questions and you can simply say um you know that's32:27
all I'd like to share for now but thanks so much for your concern right it's a lovely way to end it thanks so much for32:32
your concern right uh people often will give you all kinds of tips and suggestions you should do this you should do that and often you know32:39
they're not appropriate for you or they're not the nuanced things that individuals need and again you just32:44
thank them for their concern and go about your day we don't have to get into arguments with them about you know32:50
whether that's an appropriate like course of action or not um but it's helpful if you have a chronic condition32:56
to let people know because it will probably impact you it might impact your relationships it might impact how you33:02
show up and you want people to attribute your behavior to your health condition and not that you don't care about things33:08
or it's not important in lots of workplaces there are accommodations if people need to provide if you have a33:14
health condition uh which can help you manage your um illness better um often33:20
you know planning for more breaks planning for time off can be helpful um33:26
rather than kind of waiting for it to be a crisis and then having to go off and so those are things that you can have33:31
conversations with your workplace uh to talk about those things um and uh and33:37
again and then having an elevator pitch with everybody else that you talk to so again you don't you don't have to give33:42
them all the details you don't even have to give them the diagnosis but just to let them know that you have a health condition that like impacts you or33:49
impacts you know um your daily behaviors or things like that so that they understand that there's a reason for33:54
your behavior and sometimes you have to remind people that even your loved ones right they'll forget about you know the34:01
condition and not because they don't care about you right just sometimes you need to remind them and then sometimes34:06
we need to give permission to people to not talk about it right it's okay to not talk about it sometimes they always want34:11
to talk about it sometimes they'll forget to talk about it and so we just have to communicate more um and and34:17
describe what's happening and be okay with that because um they're not things that we kind of um are good at at34:25
managing and so we we need some extra help with that sometimes yeah that's that's great advice and also I think tooOutro34:32
the the more we talk about it and the more it is open and out there the less stigmas associated with it as well which34:39
I know um is a whole other topic for another day um okay well no more questions34:46
coming in so I guess we've come to the end of our time um thank you for taking34:51
time out of your busy schedules to join us today um taking time for ourselves and our personal care care is never easy34:58
but so important and um definitely worth it uh in the long run if you haven't35:04
filled in the evaluation please consider doing so now the link can be found in the chat and with that a a big thank you35:12
uh to Dr Dana Our Guest expert today I know I learned a lot and I'm sure you did as well um there was a lot of great35:20
advice in there for um just healthy living in general um without the35:26
generosity of your time Dr Dana our open hours would not be possible so thank you again and thanks everyone for joining us35:33
today on Facebook live open hours runs the last week of every other month with a different topic and guest expert so be35:40
sure to follow us on social or visit the website regularly for updates to learn more and stay up toate on Diabetes35:47
Canada's work and resources you can visit our website at35:55
dibs.com ledin and the platform formally known as Twitter you can also call our36:02
info team at 1 1800 Banting that's 1 1800b n TI n or email info@36:19
diabetes.com and guest for our next conversation and with that thank you36:25
have a great day and we'll see you36:32
again
Category Tags: General Tips, Management, Healthy Living;