A few words about our current crisis:

These are difficult days for everyone and we understand that people with diabetes and their families are facing additional stresses, concerns and fears around managing diabetes. Many may feel anxious and overwhelmed; many are feeling helpless and hopeless. We have been hearing from our friends with diabetes and we wanted to share six tips to help navigate through these challenging times:

1) Focus on what you can influence. While many things are beyond our influence right now, there are some areas in your life where you may be able to effect some positive change. For example, are there some parts of your diabetes to-do list that you can take on right now—trying some low carb recipes you’ve heard about, working on taking your insulin before meals, going for a walk after lunch?

2) Put the future aside and concentrate on today. Planning for the future is important, but it easy to get anxious and fearful when you are “fortune telling” about how things might turn out many weeks and months and years from now. Tackle things that are on your plate today. Taking on life’s challenges a day at a time can be critical for getting through these long weeks.

3) Remind yourself that you do have the skills for figuring things out. Remember a tough time you have faced before and consider the many strengths you leaned on to get you through. Trust your ability to face what life gives you. You don’t need to have it all figured out today.

4) Stay connected. Life with diabetes can feel isolating under normal circumstances. At these times, it can feel even more lonely. Connect with your loved ones in any way that you can. This may be a gift for them as well as for yourself. Also, you might want to consider joining a diabetes online forum or reading a diabetes blog.

5) Get some physical activity if/when appropriate. Getting active is important for your diabetes and your mood. Any activity counts, even small amounts of acitvity can impact your well-being.

6) Practice gratitude, which can be a potent way to break the cycle of a gloomy outlook. Take a moment each day to think about some of the people or things in your life that you are grateful for– such as the committed health care workers serving our community, a loving friend, a sunny day, a favorite TV show, or a supply of toilet paper.

Congratulations:

Kudos to our own Dr. Polonsky, BDI’s President, who has just been selected as the recipient of the American Diabetes Association’s 2020 Outstanding Educator in Diabetes Award. The award presentation will take place at the American Diabetes Association’s Scientific Sessions in Chicago in June (though, due to COVID-19, at this time it is uncertain whether this event will actually take place).

Cancellations:

Given the COVID-19 crisis, we have cancelled or postponed almost all of our scheduled activities. Most importantly, our two live training programs for healthcare professionals scheduled for May (“The Problem of Hypoglycemia in Diabetes Care: An Integrative Overview of the Latest Behavioral, Pharmacological and Technological Solutions” and “Addressing Psychosocial Challenges in Type 1 Diabetes”) will be re-scheduled for the Fall. We will determine those dates as soon as possible.

One event still scheduled:

On April 22nd, a live webinar for healthcare professionals: Dr. Polonsky will be one of the featured speakers in “Clinical Case Studies: Effective Strategies for Improving Insulin Initiation and Overcoming Barriers to Insulin”, sponsored by the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists. https://ashpadvantagemedia.com/startinsulin/webinar2/

A new publication:

With Dr. Tang at the primary author, Drs. Polonsky and Fisher were proud to serve as co-authors on “Successful Health Care Provider Strategies to Overcome Psychological Insulin Resistance in United States and Canada”. This paper provides useful insights to help healthcare professionals who are trying to support their patients with type 2 diabetes who are needing to start insulin.

Stay safe everyone!