Put yourself at the top of your to-do list every single day, and the rest will fall into place – Ordinary & Happy

Taking time for yourself is essential, especially when managing a chronic condition like diabetes. In this article, we’ll cover practical self-care strategies to help you feel your best, physically and mentally.

🥰 What is Self-Care?

Self-care is anything you do to keep yourself mentally, emotionally, physically, socially, and spiritually healthy. If you don’t practice self-care regularly, you’re risking your well-being and inviting burnout. While taking care of yourself may seem like an obvious priority, it may be easier said than done. To help, let us share a variety of ways to practice self-care, focusing on those with diabetes.

🥰 Our Essential Self-Care Tips

  • SLEEP: Some would argue that the most important form of self-care is getting enough sleep! In fact, sleep impacts glucose regulation, and going to bed at a decent time can be beneficial, especially when you are getting high-quality sleep. Overall, going to bed on time reduces glucose spikes after breakfast and makes it easier for the body to handle sugars throughout the rest of the day.
  • MENTAL Health: Another important form of self-care is prioritizing your mental health! We cannot measure mental health in the same way as our physical health, making it even more vital to focus on. Specifically. some people with diabetes may experience “Diabetic Distress”. Meaning that people living with diabetes may be more likely to experience anxiety and depression which can affect their ability to manage their health and get the most out of life.
  • Like mental health, we also want to prioritize PHYSICAL HEALTH! Looking after your physical well-being includes striving to keep every part of your body as healthy as you can. More so, getting active through things you can do with others like team sports or group hikes, can help keep you going. It is important to note that these self-care tips can double dip! You can take a stretch break and it can impact your mental and physical health. It can even be as simple as turning on some music and dancing while you prepare a delicious meal or getting out into the garden for a few minutes in the evening.

🥰 Utilize Your Self-Care Resources

It can be daunting to prioritize yourself and all that goes into it, so it is important to be aware of your local, state, and/or federal resources. Here is a link to a resource page provided by the Des Moines Public Library! There are 20 pages worth of resources that you can check out if there are any barriers to self-care for you.

Summary Practicing self-care is essential for maintaining mental, physical, and emotional well-being, especially for people living with diabetes. By prioritizing sleep, mental health, physical activity, nutrition, medication adherence, and local resources, you can build a sustainable routine that supports your health journey and helps you live your best life.