Emotional Wellbeing / Increasing Positive Emotions / Meditation / Mind-Body Medicine / Spirituality

Meditation for Healing Type 1 Diabetes

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Meditation. Hmmmm. I have a love/hate relationship with this practice, which is kind of ironic! Isn’t meditation just supposed to be about inner peace, love and tranquility?! If only!!

What Is Meditation?

As is the case with most things that have a spiritual angle, meditation is difficult to define. It is often called a practice or a skill, one in which you can become more centred, more calm, more balanced. What exactly that practice or skill entails depends on the discipline you use. It is often about focussing the attention, whether on a particular word or phrase, your internal landscape, breathing or even just the present moment that you are in (becoming aware of the sounds around you or feeling the surface under your body as you sit, for example).

Is Meditation Healing?

The results from the scientific literature are conflicting about the benefits of meditation. Proponents of meditation state that meditation can improve stress, anxiety and mood, decrease blood pressure, relieve pain, improve your immune system and improve your cardiovascular system. However, I have been unable to find any clear studies, let alone meta-analyses, that support this view. Research in the field definitely seems to be in its infancy.

Nevertheless, that does not necessarily mean that meditation isn’t worthwhile. For me, I know that I feel calmer and more grounded after sitting in meditation. I know that my life flows more smoothly and my decisions are better. I know that I am working on my energy field when I sit in meditation and that, after all, bodies are purely energy when magnified to their most intricate level. For all these reasons, it improves the quality of my life and increases the positive emotions that Dr Kelly Turner states are key to healing.

When looking at the scientific literature on meditation, something caught my eye. The scientific literature hints at a link between activation of the parasympathetic nervous system when meditation is performed. The parasympathetic nervous system is the part of the nervous system that is more active when the body goes into a state of rest, repair and digestion. It is this branch of the nervous system that is switched off when your body goes into a fight-flight response (the state that I believe is in action when Type 1 Diabetes develops and the state in which I believe a person with Type 1 Diabetes is stuck).

For the reasons I stated above, any practices, including meditation, that promote activity in the parasympathetic nervous system are enticing to me. One robust piece of research that demonstrates this link is by Amihai and Kozhevnikov (2015). What is particularly interesting about this piece of research is that they found certain types of meditation activate the parasympathetic branch, whereas others activate the sympathetic branch. I definitely want to focus on meditation practices that increase parasympathetic system because activation of the parasympathetic nervous system counters the fight/flight response and increases the ability for the body to rest, repair and digest… The three things my body needs to be doing if it’s going to heal.

For those that are interested, meditation from the Theravada and Mahayana traditions were particularly found to heighten parasympathetic activity. However, I honestly believe that your own mind-body system are best for guiding you… Do what feels good! Try one kind of meditation. If you don’t like it, try something else.

My Meditation Practice In The Past

I first encountered meditation in my twenties, when I had raging anxiety and depression (yes, and probably rage!!). Getting through my days was more than hard work. I wasn’t sure if I was going to make it through those times. I had done all of the doctors visits and been prescribed the good ol’ antidepressants but nothing was really helping. In desperation, I signed up to a yoga course specifically designed to aid those with anxiety and depression. My then yoga teacher was fantastic. She had a wealth of knowledge and a truly compassionate understanding of where I was. She got, right from the outset, that in my highly frazzled and anxious state, getting me to sit in peace and stillness for any length of time just wasn’t going to happen. So my meditation practice started with a simple walking meditation. And, boy, it helped! Just focusing, even for short amounts of time, on raising and lowering my legs with each step gave me a soothing that was in short supply at that time.

I have also done guided meditations in the past and sampled Transcendental Meditation (which the amazing Candace Pert placed great faith in). I think I might have continued my exploration and practice of Transcendental Meditation if I had not also read, at that time, the book “Relaxation Response by Herbert Benson“. In that book, Herbert Benson argues that transcendental meditation, and other meditative practices like it, do not have any particular magic quality, it’s just that they use a specific set of steps that trigger a relaxation response in the body. I will cover these steps, and my thoughts on that book, in a forthcoming blog post.

My Meditation Practice Today

I have more of an on/off relationship with meditation today. I have managed to heal my anxiety and depression so the desperation I had then is no longer powering me to the mat. Instead, as my ADHD becomes more pronounced in my life (or maybe just more visible as I have stripped away the noisier and more consuming layers of anxiety and depression), I am finding it more of a struggle to do things, like meditation, that don’t have an immediate pay-off. I get distracted and frustrated. But those two emotions are ones that definitely benefit from meditation so back I swing to it again!

At the moment, I am meditating most days. I do it in the morning for 15 minutes as part of my morning routine. I have used guided meditations in the past but find that I don’t feel so recharged and relaxed after those. So, these days, I simply sit, close my eyes and watch my thoughts come and go. I may at times pay attention to how my body is in the present moment or observe the coming and going of my breath. It feels playful. I let my focus be with what it needs to be with.

I also use a mudra (a hand gesture) whilst I meditate. My body naturally found this mudra itself some ten years ago. A meditation teacher I had at that time encouraged us to touch our index finger to our thumb on each hand whilst meditating. This is known as the Gyan Mudra and is a very popular mudra during meditation. It is thought to promote control in the mind, releasing negative thoughts and promoting positive emotions. However, I naturally gravitated to instead placing my middle and ring fingers on my thumb instead. I have now discovered that that mudra is known as the Apan Mudra and is used to promote healthy diabetes control! My body knew!!

Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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May 1, 2023

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Emotional Wellbeing / Increasing Positive Emotions / Mind-Body Medicine / Releasing Suppressed Emotions

A Complaint-Free Life

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

As I was writing my last blog post on Self-Compassion and Kristin Neff’s book “Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind To Yourself”, I started mulling about what compassion and self-compassion might look like in life.

Complaining seems to me to be the true antithesis of compassion. When you complain about how you look in the mirror or how annoying you found someone to be, compassion cannot be present. Compassion comes from love, complaining comes from hate (or at least dislike). Compassion asks you to see the human and the vulnerable in yourself or the other. Compassion requires patience and understanding, instead of judgement. If you are sitting with compassion, you cannot have the judgement necessary to complain.

A Complaint-Free World

Self-compassion and compassion for others could be accessed through multiple routes (Kristin Neff gave many ideas in her book). However, something I immediately thought of, when thinking about compassion, was a book I read some years ago about complaining. The book was called “A Complaint-Free World: How to Stop Complaining and Start Enjoying the Life You Always Wanted by Will Bowen”.

In his book, Will Bowen outlines an approach to stop complaining. He offers the challenge of 21 days without a single complaint. You wear a bracelet on one wrist and, each time you complain, you switch it to the other wrist. The first challenge is to get through a day without switching the bracelet. Then, a week. Then, three weeks. It sounds pretty easy in practice. It isn’t!

My Previous Experience of Stopping Complaining

I started trying to do the 21-day complaint-free challenge when I first read Will Bowen’s book maybe five or six years ago. It was so impossibly hard for me at that time! I’d get a few hours in and then be complaining again. And, as my awareness increased, I felt like I was just getting worse and worse, I ended up giving up, feeling doomed to failure for the rest of my life.

Four Stages of Competence by Martin Broadwell

Since then, I have learnt about the ‘Four Stages of Competence’ Model by Martin Broadwell. This model states that there are four distinct stages in the learning process:

1. Unconscious Incompetence:

The learner is not aware how to do the required task and may also not be aware that they do not know how to do the task.

2. Conscious Incompetence:

The learner becomes aware that they do not know how to do the required task. They are likely to make a lot of mistakes at this stage as the attempt to do the task.

3. Conscious Competence:

The learner learns how to do the task. However, it still requires diligence and concentration to achieve it. Focus and attention are required.

4. Unconscious Competence:

The skill has been mastered to such a degree that focussed concentration is no longer required to perform the task.

When I started to stop complaining, I quite quickly went from being an unconscious incompetent (not aware of just how much I was complaining) to a conscious incompetent (being aware that I was complaining all. the. time. It was painful to realise just how negative I was. I took this as an indication that I was failing at becoming complaint-free whereas, in fact, I was starting to progress up the stage of the learning process. So, with this awareness, I am going into this new attempt with the realisation that I am going to go through a (hopefully not too painfully long!) patch where I am going to witness just how much I moan and complain about people and my life! But hanging through this stage will bring me to a new place, where self-compassion, and compassion in general, will be mine.

To Inform, Not To Complain

Will Bowen, however, does assert in his book that a life without complaints should not be a life that accepts the unsatisfactory. if you are provided with a service that isn’t up to standard, it is perfectly okay to say so. But in a way that doesn’t turn it into a moan. If your car wasn’t serviced on the day it was meant to be, it is okay to phone the company and point this out. If your food at the restaurant was unappetising, informing the waiter or chef is the right thing to do. Asking for a replacement is also okay. But then complaining to your friends at the table about the poor quality of the restaurant or the service is where the buck stops. That is not necessary. Or good for your health.

Complaining Is Bad For Your Health

When you complain, your body releases more of the stress hormone cortisol. As I have discussed in multiple previous articles (see here and here for examples), cortisol is responsible for kicking off, or at least contributing, to the fight-flight response in the body (see here for details). This is the very mode that I believe creates Type 1 Diabetes in the body. So reducing, or preferably eliminating, this behaviour is likely to reduce insulin resistance and therefore the amount of insulin dependence. And that’s definitely not something to complain about!!

Putting It Into Practice

I think a non-complaint practice takes time to master. Will Bowen came up with the idea of using a bracelet on your wrist that you switch from one wrist to the other each time you complain. The aim is to get through a day, a week or a month without switching it. I bought one of his bracelets for this purpose. I like the idea of how this work sand will go and dig mine out of the cupboard so that I can use it from now. Like any other form of practice – yoga, meditation, breathwork, even instrumental practice – I don’t anticipate it will be easy or free from mistakes. But the learning is where the healing is.

So, dear readers, if you see me complaining in any of my future blog posts, please kindly call me out on it! I won’t take it as a complaint from you, I promise. It will purely take it as a gift of learning for me.

Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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April 17, 2023

Read more about the article A Complaint-Free Life

Diet / Emotional Wellbeing / Increasing Positive Emotions / Inflammation / Mind-Body Medicine / Nutrition / Physical Wellbeing / Removal of Toxins / Taking Control of My Health

Gluten Sensitivity

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

The next step on my healing journey has become about food again. Having identified my problem with dairy two years ago, I have now discovered that gluten is also a problem for me.

What is Gluten?

Gluten is a protein (a long-chain amino acid) that is found in cereals like wheat, rye and barley. These cereals are found in a wide range of processed foods today, including bread, rolls, croissants, pasta, breakfast cereals and beer. Because gluten is a core component of flour, it is also commonly added to soups, sauces and salad dressings, as well as a whole host of recipes served in restaurants.

What is the Difference between Gluten Sensitivity and Coeliac’s Disease?

Gluten sensitivity is a label given to people who struggle to process gluten. There are three main kinds of gluten sensitivity: coeliac disease, non-coeliac gluten sensitivity and wheat allergy. This article will briefly discuss coeliac disease but its main focus will be non-coeliac gluten sensitivity.

Coeliac disease is a condition that results from a person’s immune system reacting to digested gluten. It triggers an autoimmune response that produces antibodies to the gluten. These antibodies end up damaging the lining of the small intestine. This damage results in the small intestine being unable to process food and can lead to malnutrition. Whilst coeliac disease is a genetically-inherited condition, symptoms may not present themselves until adulthood. There is a higher incidence of coeliac disease in the Type 1 Diabetes population, with approximately 8% of the population also having coeliac.

Interestingly, this article on coeliac disease highlights a correlation between gut microbiome presentations and the development of coeliac disease. I firmly believe that Type 1 Diabetes is, at heart, the result of a gut issue so it would therefore not be a long stretch to have coeliac disease also present in the diabetes population.

By comparison, non-coelic gluten sensitivity (NCGS) is not an autoimmune condition. Whilst the body is still reacting to gluten, there is no antibody reaction and damage to the small intestine does not occur. However, NCGS does cause the body to release more of a protein called zonulin, which can break down the gut lining anyway and cause leaky gut syndrome (see an excellent explanation here). This is particularly important for Type 1 Diabetes because it has been found in recent years that this increased gut permeability allows gluten to cross the intestinal barrier. These gluten peptides then may induce stress in the insulin-producing beta cells of the pancreas and therefore put more pressure on these cells. More pressure then leads to faster burnout of the beta cells and thus faster inducement of Type 1 Diabetes. Indeed, research has shown that following a gluten-free diet during pregnancy reduces the risk of Type 1 Diabetes in offspring.

What are the Symptoms of Gluten Sensitivity?

The most commonly noted symptoms for non-coelic gluten sensitivity (NCGS) are diarrhoea, bloating and gas. I did not have any of these (well, it turns out that I had a lot of internal gas but none of it ever made its presence known!). Therefore, I believe that a more comprehensive list of symptoms of NCGS should read as follows:

Diarrhoea
Bloating
Gas
Stomach aches
Stabbing headaches behind the eyes
Exhaustion
Nausea
Feeling low in mood, particularly feeling defeated and devastated without environmental reasons
Retching
Runny nose (I thought it was a hayfever reaction)
Cough (always comes on within 20 minutes of eating gluten)
Brain fog (I just can’t really think too well!)

How can Gluten Sensitivity be Diagnosed?

NCGS is harder to diagnose than coeliac disease because there is no recommended methods to diagnose and test for this condition. Today, diagnosis results from a process of eliminating other possible diagnoses. Firstly, a reaction to gluten must be noted. Usually, this is done via a food log. Each time gluten is eaten, any reactions need to be noted down, along with the timing of these symptoms.

If a pattern emerges in symptoms following digestion of gluten, investigations for wheat allergies and coeliac’s disease must be conducted first to eliminate these as explanations for the symptoms. This will be undertaken via a surgical procedure. For two weeks prior to the procedure, gluten needs to be consumed in adequate quantities to provoke any potential reactions. I underwent a full and thorough upper and lower gastroscopy, with multiple samples being taken. The results came back as negative for all tests undertaken. My digestive tract appeared generally healthy and no sign of coeliac’s disease was present. Therefore, the only cause left to explain my symptoms was non-coeliac gluten sensitivity.

My Gluten Story

Looking back on my life, I suspect that my non-coeliac gluten sensitivity may have always been present. As a child, every Wednesday, my parents would cook me Spaghetti Bolognese for dinner and then send me off to Brownies for an hour. The problem was, I mostly hypo’d my way through Brownies. My father would inject my insulin when I ate but it would always hit in before the carbohydrates from the spaghetti got into my bloodstream. In the end, he solved this problem by waiting until I got back from Brownies before giving me my injection. But why did I digest the spaghetti so slowly? I suspect that what was happening there was my gluten intolerance. Spaghetti is high in gluten and my stomach (or complete digestive tract) struggled to process this protein, thus causing it not to be available in the bloodstream when the insulin arrived. But this was not the only clue I had.

I had a test for coeliac disease some twenty years ago. I can’t quite remember why I asked for this but I guess, on some subconscious level, I knew something wasn’t quite right. I had a full colonoscopy and was found to not have coeliac’s disease (there was no destruction of my small intestine). I was, however, found to have a lot of food still left in my stomach at the time of the procedure, despite following the required starving period beforehand. My doctor at the time suggested that I had gastroparesis (delayed stomach-emptying) and left it at that. No further investigations were conducted at that time. But a suggested diagnosis of gastroparesis didn’t make sense. My blood sugar would usually react within ten to fifteen minutes of eating some food. That isn’t slow digestion. But these carbohydrates could have been coming from sugar or from rice or from vegetables – sources of carbohydrates that do not contain gluten. I think that that gastroparesis was actually a demonstration of my body’s inability to process gluten (and perhaps also the dairy) that I was eating at that time. It was all just backlogged in my stomach.

What About You?

Could you also be someone with Type 1 Diabetes who has a food intolerance (or two!). Do you have any of these symptoms? They can be subtle or easily dismissed but they may be extremely important to your healing. I believe that healing asks us to lean in closer to our bodies and really listen and understand what it is asking for. Is your body asking for release from gluten toxicity too?

Watch out for subtle signs. Watch out for mood swings (or anxiety or depression) that are sporadic and/or unexplained by life circumstances. Watch out for that runny nose or that cough that just doesn’t make sense in the context of your life. Please don’t become paranoid, just become curious. Your healing could be in those subtle signs.

Life Post-Gluten

Having now (mostly) removed gluten from my diet, I have witnessed something extraordinary. My insulin sensitivity for meal times has increased dramatically! I now take 50-75% less insulin per meal, for the same amount of carbohydrates (from 4-5 units of Novorapid to 1-2 units per meal). I also have reduced my basal by 25% (from 16 units to 12 units). My body mass has not changed and neither have any of my habits or activity levels. Just the removal of gluten. I am also less tired. I have more energy. No more headaches. No more bloating or farting (so far!). Not a lot of low mood (apart from at the full moon – more on that later!).

I’m wondering whether this reduction in insulin levels is because I now have less inflammation (see previous article) in my system. I liken it to when you’re ill. When sickness sets in, blood sugar levels rise. Hence the ‘sick day rules’ that are handed out at hospital check-ups. This is due to increased inflammation in the system during the illness. Gluten causes the same effect in me. So, by removing that inflammation, less insulin is needed to maintain blood sugar levels.

Grieving The Loss of Gluten

Don’t misunderstand me. I am not finding giving up gluten easily. I really feel like I’m grieving its loss. I have already (mostly) given up dairy and am reaping the benefits from that. But I feel like, with each elimination, I’m walking towards a future that is just going to have vegetables in it. I love cake (the occasional piece!). And bread. And good pasta (preferably in Italy!!). And gluten-free bread just doesn’t cut it when compared to a soft fluffy roll or a beautiful freshly-baked baguette. (If you’re struggling too, I have found the Warburton’s Gluten-Free range to be some of the best out there so far.)

Healing is a process. I know that I felt a similar grief when I stopped dairy. I have found a balance with that now where, when I really miss it, I pay the price and have a piece of dairy-laden cake (instead of the not bad dairy-free equivalent!). It takes time. Healing takes time. It’s a process, not a destination. Every day I don’t eat gluten and dairy, I feel better, I feel alive, I feel energised. So it’s actually a choice towards health and vitality, rather than a move away from foods love. It’s a move towards bringing myself towards alignment and being who I am truly meant to be. And that’s worth it.

Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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April 10, 2023

Read more about the article Gluten Sensitivity

Embracing Social Support / Emotional Wellbeing / Fight-or-Flight Response / Increasing Positive Emotions / Mind-Body Medicine / Relaxation

Self-Compassion

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

Self-compassion. Urgh. A topic like this is one that I steered away from for many years. I had the attitude that self-compassion was the route to self-destruction because, after all, if I’m being kind to myself, I’ll just likely slack off (even more!) from whatever I’m doing and get less and less achieved with this short life of mine. I spent my twenties running at full pelt and feeling continually frustrated that I just wasn’t getting enough done. Whatever ‘enough’ meant!!

I think part of that was a kind of survivor’s guilt. Every time I survived a hypo, I felt it was a message to me that I had survived this and therefore had something important to do in my life. I also felt that I had an I.O.U. for whomever was standing around me at the time I passed out. Their stress was owed something in return.

As you can probably tell, self-compassion has probably been the bottom item on my to-do list for a very long time. So why am I writing this blog post now? I guess those times are a-changing!

I have just read Kristin Neff’s book ‘Self-Compassion: The Proven Power of Being Kind to Yourself’. It was recommended to me a while back by a coach I was working with. As is usual for when I read a book, I picked it up and flicked through it, then chose another book to flick through instead! But something kept calling me back to it. I guess my inner workings (for those with a spiritual outlook, I would use the term ‘soul’) called me back to it. My soul knew there was a message in there for me. And there was.

When I sat down to read this book, my interest was immediately sparked by this quote:

“MSC [Mindful Self-Compassion] increases… physical health (one study with diabetes patients found it reduced glucose levels).” (p. viii in Neff, 2021)

Wow! So practising self-compassion gives me a tool to reduce my glucose levels and therefore reduces the amount of insulin I’ll need to take on a daily basis…? This seemed like a worthwhile tool to add to my armoury, my way of life, for getting off of insulin.

What Is Self-Compassion?

Kristin Neff (2021. p. 41) has found from her research that self-compassion comprises three elements:

1. Self-kindness

2. Common humanity

3. Mindfulness

To be self-compassionate, is to live a life that engages these qualities most of the time. I will therefore discuss each of these qualities now.

Self-Kindness

“Self-kindness… means that we stop the constant self-judgment and disparaging internal commentary that most of us have come to see as normal… It [also] involves actively comforting ourselves, responding just as we would to a dear friend in need.” (Neff, 2021, p. 42).

I don’t know about you, but this has always been pretty tough for me to do. I have been very critical of myself in all areas of my life, never feeling I measured up to whatever ludicrously high standard I set for myself. But I have got better at this over time. I don’t criticise and judge myself like I used to. I give myself grace. I am learning to love myself properly.

I do not, however, yet actively comfort myself when in need. Kristin Neff (pp. 49-50) highlights how self-hugging is a really effective tool for soothing ourselves. It releases oxytocin, which calms cardiovascular stress and increases feelings of love and bonding (see my post here on hugging). On top of this, self-soothing (and therefore self-hugging) also switches off the fight-or-flight response, which is responsible for increasing blood pressure, adrenaline and cortisol in our system (Neff, 2021. p. 48) (see my post here for more information on the fight-flight response).

We already know that cortisol and adrenaline cause body tissues to be less sensitive to insulin so insulin resistance increases, plus a spike in these neurotransmitters also causes a release of more glucose from the liver. A double hit to our blood sugars! So a self-hug is the protective measure against these.

Common Humanity

“The second fundamental element of self-compassion is recognition of the common human experience.” (Neff, 2021, p. 61). When we ponder this for a while, we can see that we can’t blame ourselves for our failures. The person we are today has been created by a million previous experiences. How we react to today is constructed from the inputs of ourselves and other people in previous times. So how can blame ourselves for our reactions, our outlook, our fears, even the people we love. We are so entwined with the rest of the world that this portioning out of blame is nonsense. Saying that, that does not mean we are free from personal responsibility and accountability. We can still play our part, and should play our part, in our lives. We still have an impact on others that should be considered. But, where that impact is less than desirable, self-compassion is necessary. As Kristin Neff (2021. p. 65):

“If we can compassionately remind ourselves in moments of falling down that failure is part of the shared human experience, then that moment becomes one of togetherness rather than isolation.”

Interestingly. this idea immediately reminded me of Dr Kelly Turner’s work on healing. During her research, she found that both spirituality and social support were key components in healing. I believe that this concept of self-compassion picks up on these two qualities of the healing field.

Mindfulness

The last component of self-compassion that Kristin Neff (2021) has identified through her research is mindfulness. She defines this as:

“the clear seeing and nonjudgmental acceptance of what’s occurring in the present moment”. (p. 80)

In those moments of rage, despair, anger, fatigue, when maybe our behaviour does not reflect the soul we truly are, we need to first see that we are suffering. Our pain comes from suffering. Kristin Neff (2021, p. 81) highlights the crucial difference: that of needing to focus on our pain caused by the failure, not the failure itself. I know personally that, in the heat of the moment, when tempers are high, this is so hard to do. But I guess that this is where the first two components come in… If I can be kind to myself in those moments, rather than judgemental, and if I can see that this happens to all humans, not just me, then I suspect that it will then be easier to be mindful of the pain that I am suffering in that moment. It is then that I can reach for self-love, rather than self-hate. As Kristin Neff (2021, p. 113) puts it:

“We balance the dark energy of negative emotions with the bright energy of love and social connection”.

Practices that Promote Self-Compassion

Kristin Neff’s (2021) book is full of examples of ways to practice self-compassion in our lives. It also contains a series of specific exercises that enable us to access this state. For these alone, I highly recommend buying this book. Some of my favourites (noted here as a memory prompt for me!) are:

Practising Metta (loving-kindness) meditation (Neff, 2021, pp. 211-212)
Silent prayer
Solitary walks in the woods
Becoming aware of the physical sensations in the body during times of stress or distress (Neff, 2021, p. 112)
The Pleasure Walk exercise (Neff, 2021, p. 253)

Type 1 Diabetes and Self-Compassion

I believe that having self-compassion is particularly challenging when you have Type 1 Diabetes. There are many overt and covert judgements that are made throughout your life with this condition. These include judgements about:

How well or not well you are deemed to be controlling your diabetes
Any additional health issues that arise out of this condition
What you are or are not eating at any point in time
How much you weigh
At doctors appointments, where you are told how you can do better or what you have done ‘wrong.
Developing T1D in the first place.

To stand in the face of these criticisms and be okay with yourself is a true act of self-love and self-compassion. It is a choice for peace and happiness in your life and acceptance of what is. That self-compassion then enables you to choose health and wellbeing for yourself and choose the proactive behaviours that support that desire (Neff, 2021, p. 12). And that can lead to healing.

Metta

Kristin Neff (2021) offers several versions of Metta, a kind of loving-meditation practice, in her book. However, I choose to end this article with a version I was given by a yoga teacher many years ago. I offer this to you with love and compassion:

Simply recite this to yourself, preferably on a daily basis but whenever you can, to give more compassion to yourself and others in the world. Try to really feel that love and compassion as you recite each verse:

For yourself, recite:

May I be happy and peaceful.

May I be healthy and at ease.

May I be able to take care of myself joyfully.

May I possess the wisdom, courage, and determination to meet and overcome problems and obstacles in my life.

Then, for someone you really respect who is not a partner or family member:

May they be happy and peaceful

May they be healthy and at ease

May they be able to take care of themselves joyfully

May they possess the wisdom, courage, and determination to meet and overcome problems and obstacles in life.

Next, a beloved family member:

May this family member (name) be happy and peaceful

May they be healthy and at ease

May they be able to take care of themselves joyfully

May they possess the wisdom, courage, and determination to meet and overcome problems and obstacles in life.

Next, a neutral person:

May this neutral person (name) be happy and peaceful

May they be healthy and at ease

May they be able to take care of themselves joyfully

May they possess the wisdom, courage, and determination to meet and overcome problems and obstacles in life.

Next, all beings:

May all beings be happy and peaceful

May all beings be healthy and at ease

May all beings be able to take care of themselves joyfully

May all beings possess the wisdom, courage, and determination to meet and overcome problems and obstacles in life.

Lastly, return again to the self:

May I be happy and peaceful.

May I be healthy and at ease.

May I be able to take care of myself joyfully.

May I possess the wisdom, courage, and determination to meet and overcome problems and obstacles in my life.

Metta. xx

Bibliography:

Neff, K. (2021). Self-Compassion: the proven power of being kind to yourself. Great Britain: Yellow Kite.

Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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April 3, 2023

Read more about the article Self-Compassion

Emotional Wellbeing / Increasing Positive Emotions / Inflammation / Physical Wellbeing

Why Are We ‘Fighting’ Type 1 Diabetes?

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

I was raised in a family of linguists. Both of my parents studied languages at university, as did myself, my brother and my sister after them. We’ve always played with and thought about language in our family. Recently, the language of Type 1 Diabetes has been playing in my mind.

The 'Battle' of Type 1 Diabetes

I have noticed that, when I speak to fellow Type 1 diabetics, they often talk about their daily fight, their battle, the war that they’re waging. They talk about winning and losing with their Type 1 Diabetes. They talk about their thirst for victory, their desire to win (or just not lose!).

This battle is equally named in healthcare settings. At diagnosis, we hear about how our immune system has ‘attacked’ our beta cells. We learn about the ongoing fight we will have with our blood sugars from that time. We learn we need to be brave and strong to take on this fight. And we’re most certainly told we won’t always win.

One quote I found that wonderfully highlights this fight dynamic that is so intrinsic to our view of diabetes in the modern world. Bret Michaels, the lead singer of Poison and star of VH1’s ‘Rock of Love’, has Type 1 Diabetes. He was once quoted as saying:

“Every day is an absolute battle. I don’t care what anyone says. You have to wake up and say to yourself, ‘I accept that I have diabetes, and I’m not going to let it run my entire life.’

You can hear the conflict in his words. The fight, the ‘me versus my body’ that exists here. I know I had it too. I used to cry to my parents as a child that I didn’t want to do this fight anymore, that my diabetes would always win. I definitely saw my diabetes as something other than me. It was an alien force in my body that needed exterminating or at least suppressing.

Put Down Your Sword, Dear Comrade

I’ve noticed, as my life has progressed, this battle doesn’t seem to exist anymore. I no longer see my body as faulty. I don’t feel I’m at war with it anymore. Sure, I don’t always like it. I do still look in the mirror and not always like what I see. But I have developed a respect for my body now. And I think that respect is key in returning to holistic health – the kind of health that I feel is required for healing to take place. Everyday now, I reach for health in all areas of my life – physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. I no longer want to change the body I have. I’ve come to a place of peace and welcomed diabetes into my state of being.

I feel the battle with our bodies needs to be stopped if healing is ever going to occur. If we believe that we are fighting our bodies, then peace cannot exist in our cells. Our body will replicate the fight-or-flight response that mirrors our language and belief systems. So healing will take place in a body that is at peace.

Reduce The Fight, Reduce Inflammation

There is some support in the medical literature for the idea of needing peace in the body for healing to occur. This, after all, is what ‘inflammation’ is – the body telling its immune system to respond to a foreign object, germ, bacteria or other irritant. One cause of inflammation is stress in all its forms. So reducing stress, including the emotional stress of the pain, anger and frustration caused my diabetes, will reduce inflammation in the body.

So next time you talk to your body, make it words of love and peace. Show it gratitude and appreciation for all that it does do right. And forgive it for the diabetes it currently has. I honestly believe it’s the best option the body had to choose from at the time that it developed.

Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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March 20, 2023

Read more about the article Why Are We ‘Fighting’ Type 1 Diabetes?

Emotional Wellbeing / Increasing Positive Emotions / Physical Wellbeing / Relaxation / Spirituality / Taking Control of My Health

Reflection and Gratitude

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

I’m taking a moment just now to be reflective, be still and at peace. I am pausing to take notice of where I am now. To notice just how far I’ve come. I think it becomes really easy on a healing journey to spend so much time looking at the end goal – that panacea of health, whatever that may be for you or me – that we forget to be thankful for everything that has already happened and that we have already achieved. I guess this post is one of gratitude for all the ways that I have served my own higher good and my own blossoming health.

Looking Back To Where I Was

I am thinking back to the teenager I was. I was angry. I got dressed in black everyday. I didn’t want to mix with the majority of people in the world. I didn’t care about my diabetes. I didn’t care about my health. From here, things only got worse. By my twenties, my mental health had descended into a very deep, dark pit. I was so depressed that I couldn’t get out of bed for weeks at a time. I was so anxious that just walking down to the corner of my street, about 50 metres, was too much for me. I was trapped both in my mind and in my house.

As well as Type 1 Diabetes, clinical depression and clinical anxiety, I had polycystic ovarian syndrome, temporomandibular jaw dysfunction and recurrent infections. I spent a lot of my time seeing doctors. None of them seemed to be able to offer me anything more than temporary relief from symptoms.

I carried my victim status in all my interactions. I felt the world was out to get me. I felt the medical profession was my enemy. I felt God had abandoned me.

I wasn’t really aware at that time just how much I had come undone. I carried on until I couldn’t carry on anymore. I then got help. I started with psychotherapy. I saw multiple therapists over a ten-year period. Some helped some. Some didn’t help at all. One changed my life. Actually, he enabled me to change my life. That was the start of a thousand steps on my road of healing.

Gratitude for the Now

I am sitting here today, free of mental health issues. I have safely weaned myself off antidepressants. No anxiety, no depression remain. I no longer have temporomandibular jaw dysfunction. I rarely see any doctors or need to (apart from my usual diabetes check-ups). I eat well. I move well. I am optimistic about life.

I suspect that my inability to just sit down is rooted in my nervous system too. My twitchiness, my desire to always move and ‘do’ seems indicative of a fight-or-flight reaction. If you’re being stalked through the trees by a predator (or your body thinks that’s the case), you’re not just going to kick back and stargaze, are you?!

I have put down my victim mentality and picked up grace instead. I am grateful for all that life has given me. I am grateful for the woman it has enabled me to become. I am grateful for all the opportunities that life presents. I am grateful for the peace in my heart and the love that surrounds me. I’ve gone from continually reassuring myself, pleading with myself, that I’m ‘not a bad egg’ to telling myself that life is good. And really feeling that in my heart. I am healing. I am well. Life is good.

Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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September 11, 2022

Read more about the article Reflection and Gratitude

Emotional Wellbeing / Increasing Positive Emotions / Mind-Body Medicine / Taking Control of My Health

NEWSFLASH!

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

I have just come across an article in Science Daily that I wanted to talk about. It has finally been found that insulin not only plays a role in digestion but it also influences brain function. At last the wider scientific community are catching up with Candace Pert’s research. who argued that hormones like insulin are body-wide and influence both the brain and the body!

This research, undertaken by researchers at the Vanderbilt University Medical Center, has shown that insulin has a direct effect on the brain’s dopamine systems. When insulin is low or absent in the body, the dopamine pathways do not fire. This results in a lack of stimulation to the brain regions that recognise reward, attention and movement.

This is particularly interesting for me because of my ADHD symptomology. Could it be that my ADHD symptoms are purely a result of my insulin levels in my system? And, therefore, could they fluctuate in severity with any excess or lack thereof?

I am also aware how dopamine plays a key role in enabling us to feel pleasure. So that makes me wonder if an absence of dopamine is likely to cause an absence of pleasure i.e. depression? The rate of depression is diabetics is significantly greater than the general population, with adolescents with Type 1 Diabetes are five times more likely to be depressed than their healthy counterparts.

A final question that this research encourages me to ask is… Can improvement in pleasure (which would cause dopamine production in the brain) result in more insulin production (or a decrease in the inhibition of insulin production)? Could increased pleasure help to heal Type 1 Diabetes? It’s certainly worth investigating… Who doesn’t want more pleasure in their lives?!

Natalie Leader

Natalie is a blogger with Type 1 Diabetes. Natalie's special gifts are questioning the status quo and being a rebel. She is using these gifts to question medical 'knowledge' and find a true cure for Type 1 Diabetes.

The content of the HealingT1D website is for educational and information purposes only. It does not contain medical advice. The contents of this website are not intended to substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Please always consult with your doctor, physician, or other qualified healthcare professional before making any adjustments to your routine or healthcare regime. HealingT1D and all associated with it will not be held liable for any risks or issues associated with using or acting upon the information on this site.

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December 20, 2021

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What Is Alexithymia?

Is There Scientific Support for Type 1 Diabetes Resulting From Alexithymia?

More Weight For My Theory For How Type 1 Diabetes Develops

Some Caveats...

References

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Is Meditation Healing?

My Meditation Practice In The Past

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Four Stages of Competence by Martin Broadwell

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2. Conscious Incompetence:

3. Conscious Competence:

4. Unconscious Competence:

To Inform, Not To Complain

Complaining Is Bad For Your Health

Putting It Into Practice

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What is Gluten?

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What Is Self-Compassion?

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Metta

For yourself, recite:

Then, for someone you really respect who is not a partner or family member:

Next, a beloved family member:

Next, a neutral person:

Next, all beings:

Lastly, return again to the self:

Bibliography:

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The 'Battle' of Type 1 Diabetes

Put Down Your Sword, Dear Comrade

Reduce The Fight, Reduce Inflammation

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Looking Back To Where I Was

Gratitude for the Now

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