Moodiness

People with diabetes can be moody.  I find that my moodiness can be so awful l that I almost disassociate with myself at that point. It's not moodiness because I am upset about having diabetes, it's a moodiness that is connected to my blood sugars, the crazier the blood sugar - high or low, the more likely I am to completely disconnect.

This doesn't mean that I will scream at the neighbour walking his dog, or that I will get agitated with the cashier and speak my mind -  it's just not something I would ever do [knowing that there likely is people that would] I am more of a 'let me be, and we will all be fine' type of person.  The people who are the closest to me, i.e M, my parents or sibling get the raw moodiness.

When my blood sugar is really high or low, or is plummeting, my emotions get the best of me. The worst is if  I am constantly high for too long or constantly low for too long, then there is no telling when or how long I will burst into tears, sobbing.  I remember at the first Young Leaders Programme in 2013, there was a day that my blood sugars had sky-rocketed for the better half of the day, mix in a crazy time zone change [Australia] sitting in a room for 12 hours, and bam, tears.  I had to leave and go back to my room to re-group, not only to get my blood sugars down but to also calm myself down.  High blood sugars feel awful.

Really the only way to cope is to try to get your blood sugars back up or down and I find being in silence helps. While I admire the people who want to make sure that I am O.K, it only makes me more agitated. I know that I am not the only one because I have been with other type 1's when I saw their switch flip, the face of frustration, annoyance and disconnectedness.

My advice for anyone who sometimes feels the way I do is to:

+ create a space for yourself to calm down, whether that is your room or front porch etc.

+ make sure you reassure the people you love that you're O.K but just need some space

+ make sure you know what you're dealing with - checking often and doing what needs to be done such as insulin, drink water, eat etc.

+ remember that this mood is only temporary and does not reflect you as a person

Kayla