Do you ever feel like you just need a break from diabetes? Do you think the best way to reduce your stress is to avoid thinking about and managing diabetes for a while? On paper, that makes sense. However, what actually happens is you make the situation worse. The more you try to avoid the stress of diabetes, the harder it comes back to bite you. In this episode of The Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I talk about The Paradox of Avoidance. You'll hear why trying to avoid stress does the exact opposite of what you want it to do. I show you how leaning into the stress makes it easier to deal with ..read more

My book, Diabetes Sucks and You Can Handle It comes out soon!   As I think about the quickly approaching book release, I wanted to take some time to reflect on the habits that I formed and the lessons that I learned while writing the book.  In this episode of the Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I talk about the 5 lessons I learned while writing my book. I share some tips on how you can use these lessons in your life to improve your diabetes management.    Diabetes Sucks and You Can Handle It will be on April 19, 2022. You will be able to purchase the book on Amazon or on my ..read more

I love when I have the chance to chat with other mental health professionals who specialize in diabetes. It is even more exciting when those professionals are creating inclusive opportunities that go beyond the physically-focused mindset surrounding a diabetes diagnosis.   In this episode of the Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, my guests are Allison Nimlos, LAMFT, and Sara Adams, LCSW. Both Allison and Sara are therapists who live with diabetes and work with people living with diabetes. Together, they are putting on the FIRST EVER Diabetes + Mental Health Conference on May 20-21, 2022. I ho ..read more

When I was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 23 years ago, I had a lot of challenges and had no clue what I was doing! I was scared and overwhelmed. In this episode of The Diabetes Psychologist podcast, I tell you about 5 things I wish I would have done earlier in my diagnosis for my mental health. No matter how long you have been living with diabetes, I hope my experiences can help you on your journey. Click HERE to join The Diabetes Psychologist Membership. Use code COMMUNITY to get your first month for $10. Follow The Diabetes Psychologist on Instagram @thediabetespsychologist&n ..read more

Being a teenager is tough. Being a teen with T1D is extremely challenging.  From navigating relationships with family, friends, and teachers to gaining independence and eventually moving out on their own, diabetes can put a wrench in the already landmine-ridden world of adolescence. But this doesn't mean that all hope is lost! My guest on this episode of The Diabetes Psychologist Podcast is Dr. Kenneth Gorfinke. Dr. Ken is a psychologist who works with teens and their parents to help them improve their relationship when it comes to living with type 1 diabetes. In this episode, Dr. Ken tal ..read more

Do you blame T1D for all the problems in your life?  You had a bad day at work...diabetes is to blame. You got in a fight with your wife...it's T1D's fault! Your kids aren't behaving...diabetes is responsible. We all scapegoat diabetes to some extent, and sometimes, we don't even realize we are doing it. In this episode of The Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I talk about what it means to scapegoat T1D and give you the four most common reasons why people do it. Then, I give you three steps you can take to make sure you are not passing the blame to diabetes for the challenges in your life th ..read more

The diabetes community has many faces. We come from diverse backgrounds, and each of us is unique. However, we are all united by the common bond of type 1 diabetes. The diabetes community comes together in different ways. Sometimes it's through diabetes camps and in-person events, and other times it's running into another T1D in the wild. The T1D community also comes together through social media, podcasts, and even photography. My guest on this episode of The Diabetes Psychologist Podcast is Laura Pavlakovich. Laura is the founder of You're Just My Type, an organization that works to create a ..read more

My listener's keep the questions coming, and I want to keep the answers flowing. This episode of The Diabetes Psychologist Podcast is dedicated to answering your questions. In this episode of my podcast, I answer questions about: ✔️ How to make T1D less annoying ✔️ How to combat decision fatigue ✔️ How to learn to trust diabetes technology ✔️ Whether T1D ever gets any easier Click HERE to join The Diabetes Psychologist Membership. Follow The Diabetes Psychologist on Instagram @thediabetespsychologist and join The Diabetes Psychologist Community on Facebook ..read more

Raise your hand if you've even been self-critical about T1D. People with T1D tend to be hard on themselves. We beat ourselves up when our blood sugars are out of range, when we don't make the healthiest choices, or when the emotional burden of T1D weighs us down. Self-compassion with T1D is possible, and I want to tell you how. In this episode of The Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I talk about self-compassion and give you a step-by-step guide on how you can be more compassionate with yourself around the struggles of T1D. I also give you two challenges to help you put these tools into practice ..read more

You are probably focusing your time and energy with T1D in the wrong place! You most likely focus your attention on things you don't have complete control over. You focus on your blood sugars and how you feel physically and emotionally. You try to control these variables, sometimes with limited success. And when you can't control them, you double down and try even harder. What if I told you there was a better place to focus your energy with T1D? In this episode of The Diabetes Psychologist Podcast, I discuss why you shouldn't focus your efforts on your diabetes output. Instead, you should focu ..read more