Relief…for now.
Phew. It’s over, and the news was good - another complication-free eye exam has passed, and I’m another year deep into living with diabetes without any issues. Victory dance ensued in the parking lot of my doctor’s office. No - really.
As I mentioned before, that eye exam conjures so much emotion in me - it’s as if the fears of complications I keep tucked in the back of my mind are unpacked right before that appointment. And although fear can be a powerful motivator, it’s not my weapon of choice.
Kerri Sparling, my personal hero and favorite d-blogger, posted recently about a video that’s circulating “to create awareness about diabetes” for World Diabetes Day. And although I’m all for awareness, I don’t like fear tactics. Threats about losing limbs and sight have always been a reason for me to keep my diabetes in check, but the real motivation for me actually stems from the hope that I can live without any of those issues if I work hard. The difference is the fear of something going wrong versus the hope that nothing will - for me that’s a positive spin I need to put on things to stay motivated. As I’ve said before, if I let the dark rainclouds of fear come creeping in here too often, I feel like giving up. But hope, well hope keeps me happier.
But fear seems to be the weapon of choice for many providers out there. I can’t tell you how many patients I’ve talked to who have been threatened with lopped off limbs or losing their sight by their doctors. And working in the industry, I know waaaaay to many people who don’t take this disease seriously and need a healthy dose of that tough love. I also know firsthand from providers that they have patients who just won’t do what they have to do to stay healthy - fear might be the only option that gets results. But what would the right motivators look like in a perfect world? What would be the ideal way for us to have patients take care of themselves? And is fear appropriate to use when all else fails?
What motivates you guys? Do you use that fear to keep yourself in check? Or does positive thinking help keep you on track. I’d love to hear from any providers out there as well - how and when should fear be leveraged as a compliance tool?
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Comments
Glad to hear you had a pleasant eye exam! I think that motivation is different for everyone. I work as a health coach and the main thing I establish with a member before determining their goals is what motivates them. From my experience, two people can have the same goal and have totally different motivating factors. If you approach them the same way, they will not see the same results. I believe that motivation needs to come from within. It also needs to be very individualized AND very personalized. My personal motivation is performance for BMX racing. I also enjoy a good challenge and I am also motivated to handle challenges (and diabetes as PLENTY of them) to the best of my abilities.
I agree with you Alexis. Im tired of reading diabetes materials and reaching the end only to receive the official “disclaimer” about amputations and blindness amongst other things. Dont get me wrong, this is no condition to disrespect but I feel if it is well controlled and managed then the patient can feel good about themselves and know they are in the drivers seat. Congrats on your exam and just take one step at a time. It sure is hard work and really pisses me off some days but I always try to let Miranda know that there are other children close by with worse conditions than her. I get to hold,play,run,argue,share,and hundreds of other fun things to do with her. Some other families are in a diffrent situation.On another topic we received her pump today,yaayy!
Cool Gerry! Thanks for your comment - I love the way you summed it up, and how cool about the pump!! You’ll have to let us know how it goes.
DiabetesCommunity
When I was diagnosed ~12 years ago I began better care of myself out of fear (stark terror actually) of not having sight to see my daughter get married or feet to dance at her wedding. Not coming from the providers, but my own training. Another case of a little knowledge being dangerous AND where treating yourself means a fool for a patient and an idiot for a doctor! I’ve come to a better place of balancing fear of things going wrong with vision of everything going right (and I love your phrasing). So I danced at my older daughter’s wedding last year and PLAN to see my younger one as well some day. All together now - “Well-controlled diabetes is the leading cause of … nothing.”