Online Balance

Sometimes you need a moment away from diabetes. It is so consuming, so in your face, so part of nearly every moment of your day, that sometimes you need to step back and say “enough”.  Trying to find this balance can be a challenge. You don’t want to forget about it , or neglect your diabetes, but some days, you just want to push it away a little so you can focus on the rest of your life.

Part of the balance is in finding good support systems. A place, people, a forum, in which you can seek support on the days you need it, but also, feel you can step out of when needed. Too much of a good thing can be a bad thing as they say. Social Media is offering people with diabetes connections like we have never had before. When I got diabetes the only option for me was a camp for kids with type 1 diabetes and I totally rejected it. I was not ready for this mass gathering of all of those people with diabetes. At that stage I did not identify myself with diabetes. I wanted to hide from it. Twenty years later when I had accepted it and wanted more than anything to find people who got it, there was nothing. So I started Diabetes Counselling Online!

And here we are, 12 years later, with a massive online network for people with diabetes and most other conditions, problems, issues and passions you could think of. Everyone is online. So much so, that we know people are starting to lose the ability and desire to communicate in person. Kids are losing their motor skills due to lack of writing and too much swiping screens. People are hooked up to technology 24/7. And I am one of those people who is constantly connected via my smart phone which is kinda not really that smart.

I try to take the weekends to stay as unconnected as I can to the online world and as connected as I can to my family and the world around me. It is tough. There is always the thought to share a photo, upload a thought, write a blog……check what other people are up to. Ultimately I end up not working online so much on the weekends, but still jumping in and out of the online space as I wander through the joy of a weekend with the kids, pottering around, having outings and living life.

Does the online diabetes community offer you greatly needed support? Yet do you sometimes feel obliged to connect? Do you sometimes experience online overload? Or do you feel a good balance between on and offline life? If you can do that then you will find peace with diabetes and with yourself. See you on Facebook 🙂