Demonstrating Self-Care: How we Choose to Care for our Bodies

I showed up at work one day and saw a familiar face.  This face has no name, but I see it often in the town where I live.  On this day, the unknown man had two legs. 

The next time I saw him, he had one leg.  He was on crutches and one of his pant’s legs was pinned up because there was not a leg to fill the space.  It was at that moment, I realized with both shock and horror, that my diabetes is not going away.  I was really scared now.

The Truth

Diabetes kills more Americans every year than AIDS and breast cancer combined.

I am not a fan of statistics, but they do make a good point.  The above statement tells me a few things:

1.       Diabetes is a deadly disease;

2.       Many people don’t take care of this disease; and

3.       I will die, along with many other people, if I don’t take care of my health.

The Point

What I want to convey in this post is accepting we have a medical condition is the first step in recovery.  Once we accept the poor condition of our physical health, we can do something – good or bad – that could change the course of our lives.

Recovery

When I think about recovery in terms of bouncing back from abusing drugs or alcohol, I think about victory, success and freedom.  Defining the word recover mean understanding the prefix, re-, which stands for “again.”  The Latin root of the word recover is “to get again.”  According to Google, “recover” means to return, again, to a normal state of health, mind or strength.

At what point did we have a “normal” state of health, mind or strength?  That is a question that only you can answer.  But, if we were once in a good place with our physical, mental and emotional health – spiritual too – it stands to reason we can return there.

Now, going back to good health after years of self-abuse requires work.  A commitment to work.  A commitment to demonstrate to ourselves that we love and care for ourselves.  This is deeper than having the latest fashion outfit or knowing how to talk the coolest slang.  This is about life or death.  This is about living as long as we can, as best we can.

It is one thing to dress up the outside and spew prophetic words of encouragement to friends and family on Facebook and at family reunions. 

But it is something totally different to practice being good to ourselves after receiving news from the doctor that we have diabetes, cancer or some other tragic diagnosis.

The Road to Recovery

My experience tells me that every time I have ever tried to recover, I had to begin by accepting my poor condition and deciding to do something about it.  You too.

We must accept that we did a lot of damage with those poor choices in the early days of life.  In the process of acceptance, there is anger, confusion, denial, depression and, for some of us, defeat.

Then what?

Then, we have a choice to make. 

Do we cooperate with the illness?  Accept the diagnosis of poor health and agree to die quickly?  (Go to the bitter end of leg amputations, kidney failure and death.)

Or, do we do our best to re-cover?  Do we do our best to learn how to do some things different and live healthier lives?   To commit to try and regain some sense of good health and inner peace with who and what we are as we transition into the later stages of life?

These are important questions.  But they are also questions that demand answers.  And, don’t think that if you don’t answer the question, you have not made a decision.  No.  We make decisions daily to act in our best interest or as our own worst enemy.

Please don’t think I am preaching at you.  I am talking and writing for myself as well.

I am writing to inspire myself to do my very best by me.  I am writing to inspire you to do better in how you treat you. 

My motive for writing is to encourage you to use your God-given gift of intelligence to educate yourself on your illness and do what you can to be well.  (I can’t define your wellness, but you can.)

My Journey

When I got through the stage of depression about my diagnosis of diabetes, I decided to FINALLY research reversing the condition.  I came across a book called The Blood Sugar Solution, by Dr. Mark Hyman.  It changed my health.

What have you done to change your condition in life? 

What barriers prevent you from being the best you that you can be at this age of your life?

Living in the Solution

I have found in my many journeys into recovery, that a supportive community helps.  I joined Dr. Mark Hyman’s Facebook community of people seeking to reverse their diabetes.  I got rid of foods that made me sick and began to stock up and reach for foods that would make me healthier.

Granted, there is much work to do, but what I am learning is this – I must make good choices DAILY for my health.  I must practice what I teach to those who know me by continuing to educate myself about my health, take personal responsibility for my health and advocate for myself to get what I need. 

You can do this too.  So, get busy loving on you in ways that glorify God and the beautiful temple he has given you called – your body.

Be blessed,

M