Willpower, It’s Fueled by Glucose

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WillpowerWillpower, what is it?

It’s that thing that gives you the strength to persevere.

It helps you build a path to a better life.

But…when depleted, it’s the thing that leaves you overwhelmed, exhausted, and unable to carry on.

Willpower: Rediscovering the Greatest Human Strength by Roy F. Baumeister and John Tierney explores willpower, what it is, how it works, and how you can put it to work for you.

The authors take an unexpected turn in their discussion of how to corral your willpower. Among the advice about getting organized, setting priorities, and working on one thing at a time there’s a discussion of blood sugar levels. Turns out that glucose to the brain literally fuels willpower. Too little glucose and willpower disappears.

What a revelation for a person living with diabetes!

A whole section of the book shows the effect of low blood sugar on a person’s ability to make decisions and follow through. We’re not talking about the “I’m a little peckish,” kind of low blood sugar, but the you get it together enough to test and you end up staring at a number below 70 on your glucose meter—sometimes a number way below 70, like 45.

Actor Jim Turner, who lives with type 1 diabetes, shares various experiences he’s had when dealing with low blood sugar. In one instance he’s at the beach with his young son and he can’t decide whether to  take his son to the bathroom or get some food to bring his blood sugar back up. There he stood paralyzed.

As a person living with diabetes these scenes are a bit frightening. The mere idea  a hypoglycemic episode can take away my ability to make the simplest decision left me feeling helpless. My head filled with what ifs. What if that happened to me? What if I was driving and totally lost track of things? What if I put my children in danger because I couldn’t make a simple decision?

Then I read the section on how to put glucose to work for me and I felt better. Understanding that I need to feed my body and my mind in a measured, consistent way helped. When you’re sick, the authors say to save your glucose for your immune system—in other words, rest and recover. And most importantly, when you’re tired, sleep.

In short, willpower isn’t about pushing yourself to extremes. It’s about making conscious choices and following through on those choices. Blood sugar levels can help or they can get in the way. Understand that and you’re in a better position to persevere and make your life better.

 

A Hopeful Type 1 Tale

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My Beloved World by Sonia SotomayorI just finished reading Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor’s memoir, My Beloved World.

She starts her story  shortly after being diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes as a child. Her parents are arguing over which one of them is going to give her the shots of insulin she needs to survive. As the argument goes on Sonia decides then and there that she is the one who has to give herself the shots.

It’s exactly this determination that gets this working class Puerto Rican girl from the Bronx to the Ivy League, followed by a distinguished legal career with the NY District Attorney, on the federal bench and finally on to the Supreme Court.

Justice Sotomayor easily acknowledges help she received along the way: a family doctor who referred her to a juvenile diabetes research program at the Albert Einstein School of medicine; a school chum who pointed her toward the Ivy League; and various professional mentors along the way.

But if others helped open the door, Sotomayor made sure she did the work and proved herself able after walking through it. She graduated Princeton summa cum laude. Made the Harvard Law Review. And was one of the youngest lawyers to be appointed to the federal bench.

Along the way Type 1 diabetes is her constant companion. She talks about how when she was diagnosed the assumption was that people with diabetes inevitably develop complications and die young. She mentions several hypoglycemic episodes and realizing that if she doesn’t let the people around her know she has diabetes she is risking her very life. She mentions having to count calories and grams of carbohydrates and protein, and then calculate her insulin dose. She mentions all this in passing.

While Type 1 diabetes is always there, it’s in the background. While it shapes her and her life, it does not define her. She experiences the love of family and friends. She pursues and achieves her dream to be a judge. She enjoys good meals and travels. On the balance I think Sonia Sotomayor would say that she is living well with diabetes.


Video Source: Knopf Publishers

 

More than a Century of Inspiration

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TuDiabetes hosted a video chat with Joslin Medalists Tom and Richard last week.

For me the best moment was when Tom shared a story about experiencing a hypo while on the golf course. He had forgotten to put some sugar candy in with his clubs and had to ask his friends to go get him some candy from the clubhouse so he could bring his blood sugar back up.

“That was careless,” he said.

“That was careless.” It struck me how gentle he was with himself. He didn’t say he say he was stupid or made a mistake. He didn’t make a big deal out of it. It was only a moment of carelessness. He understood what he needed to do differently next time. That is all.

Dear Rep. Giffords, Thank you for being an inspiration

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Source: Flickr CC aemerybrown-SA 2.0

Rep. Gabby Giffords announced Sunday that she is resigning her seat in Congress to focus on her recovery from last year’s attempt on her life. Watching the video of her limping down the sidewalk with her husband at her side and then telling the world she’s resigning was heart wrenching.

Here is a young, vital woman speaking slowly, clearly and deliberately to get her message across. The damaging effects of the bullet she took are readily apparent.

Yet her words are full of hope. She is focusing on her therapy/recovery. She looks to the future. While she’s already beat the odds on even surviving, she is clearly not settling for what she’s achieved so far.

  • Rep. Gifford’s recovery is a 24/7 thing — just like living with diabetes.
  • Her future and her future state of health are uncertain — just like living with diabetes.
  • Each day requires focus and effort and dedication — just like living with diabetes.

Yes, yes, there is no “full recovery” from diabetes. The reality is for Rep. Giffords there is no “full recovery” from her injuries — her life and health won’t ever go back to what they were before being shot.

She chooses to move ahead.

And I choose to be inspired by that.

What’s In Your Diabetic Time Capsule?

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The other day as I was responding to a writing prompt that asked what seven things would I put in a time capsule that would be opened in 100 years. As a person with diabetes is it surprising that this chronic disease influenced my list? A glucose meter was one of the seven things I put on my list.

 

Here’s what I wrote: 

Health is another big concern for people today. The population in the United States is getting older. Chronic diseases have become common. There is an epidemic of diabetes. The World Health Organization estimated that at the beginning of this century 33 million people in the Americas had diabetes. And they estimated that number would more than double by 2030. Diabetes is a disease that requires constant attention-taking medicine, carefully choosing what to eat, exercising regularly, and watching for complications. The device I’m including here is called a glucose monitor. It is used by someone with diabetes to keep track of his blood sugar levels. The person pricks a finger, puts a drop of blood on the test strip and the device reads the strip and gives him a number telling them if his blood sugar is high, low or normal. As someone who has diabetes, I can tell you it’s rare to have a normal reading.

What would you put in a time capsule to represent your experience with diabetes?