“I am just like any other normal person”… “My son is just like any other normal person”… “We are just like any other normal persons”…
As I was reading through the latest diabetic discussions in the past months, one topic came up fairly often. The enormous strive to BE NORMAL, to FEEL NORMAL or to HAVE NORMAL kids within the diabetic community. And a lot of pain floating in the air. Because if one thing is true than it’s “the more you fight for your truth, the more you are hurting inside”.
If I am to elaborate on this topic, a fair question arises: What does “normal” actually mean? Let’s check the dictionary:
- conforming to a standard; usual, typical, or expected
- (of a person) free from physical or mental disorders
Looking at these definitions, I’d say that the second definition could be considered relevant in this instance: free from physical or mental disorder. One could also argue that it is a symbol for: “I can do whatever the normal/healthy people do as well”. Which is of course true to some degree with great caution for extreme sports or situations. There are world class climbers that have conquered great mountains with type 1 diabetes, diabetic runners who have finished their marathons and competitive racers who have finished first on the finish line.
Healthy people who have conquered such challenges had to go through pain, enormous hours of training with diligence, strong willpower and stamina. Adding type 1 diabetes to the play shifts the game to a whole different level, every effort gets multiplied while trying to balance the sugar level within safe limits, mainly during sports activities that have direct effect on glycemia. And the frustration that comes along, when despite the efforts, things go the other way round… I have great respect for these role models and their achievements. I wish to get closer one day.
Life and mainly diabetes (read: many failures and obstacles) has taught me one important lesson. Acknowledging the reality is a game changer. Just as every healing starts with the acknowledgment of the particular problem, living a better and more balanced life with diabetes starts with acknowledging the illness itself with all that it brings: I have a chronic disease that demands my attention and special care, a healthy lifestyle, eating habits, insulin administration etc.
There are certain type of meditations that use affirmations or truth sentences to support the meditation process. It was however found out that affirmations which are not the truth for that particular person can be even harmful putting such a person into internal conflict. A good example of such case would be saying: I’m healthy for a person that suffers from any type of illness and is (ironically) actually doing the meditations to improve one’s health.
Reading this thought brings me back to the strive for being normal in case of a type 1 diabetic. In my opinion it’s important to realize that we don’t need to fight for any label of that sort. Nor should we.
- It’s not normal to wait on the sideways of a highway until the sugar climbs back to a safe number where our cognitive functions are ok for us to drive safely.
- It’s not normal having to wake up several times at night just to treat lows or take care of high sugars, feeling worn out the next day.
- It’s not normal to look at a plate and see numbers representing the carbohydrate content of this food.
It’s type 1 diabetes normal. It’s the way it is and it’s ok like that.
Let’s not forget the hard work and let’s be proud of our achievements despite the hidden agenda that is always there and just enjoy whatever achievement we were able to achieve – along with type 1 diabetes.
Who is actually normal anyway? …:)
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