A change in attitude
For many people with diabetes, striving for tight control is a full-time job, and numbers outside the parameters of your goals can make you crazy. Dale, the diabetes educator from the University of Michigan, suggests a shift in perception that can help avoid knee-jerk reactions to high or low numbers: Instead of “testing” your blood glucose, “monitor” it.
“When you ‘test,’” she says, “the results can be interpreted to mean that you’ve ‘passed’ or ‘failed.’ It’s emotionally charged. When you ‘monitor’ instead, you gather information and make adjustments as necessary. You just need to ask, ‘What can I learn from this? Was my serving of pasta too large? Do I need to lower my insulin dose before exercise? What can I do better to prevent this from happening in the future?’ That’s how it should be for everyone.”
