Being a diabetic is not simply a matter of suffering from a disease, it involves an entirely different way of life. In general, the diabetic has to plan activities more carefully than a normal person and to do this successfully needs to learn as much as possible about the disease. He has to understand how the body controls blood sugar and the effects not only of insulin and other drugs, but also of exercise, illness and different foods. Nevertheless, it is important that diabetics do not let the condition rule their lives. Provided they follow the simple rules and procedures they have been taught, few activities will have to be restricted and they will be able to follow active and productive lives.

If you are a diabetic, the following guidelines should prove useful to you in coping with your disease so that you can lead a normal life.

1] If you plan to go on a long walk or partake in some vigorous sport, you need to make sure by eating extra food beforehand that your blood sugar level does not fall low that you pass out.

2] Regular mealtimes are important: if you miss a meal or a meal is delayed, eat some sugar or a biscuit to restore blood sugar level. It is useful always to carry sugar lumps or sweets with you. Your blood sugar level may also fall if you have taken too much insulin by mistake and again some sugar will restore it to normal.

3] Make sure that friends and associates know that you are diabetic and understand that you cannot take irregular meals or drink or go on binges. They should know, too, the symptoms of low blood sugar (hypoglycaemia), faintness, sweating and paleness, unsteadiness and disturbed behavior that may resemble drunkenness, so that they offer sugar and sent for medical help should your blood sugar level drop.

4] Avoid operating machinery or driving unless you have eaten in the previous two hours.

5] Children and those particularly prone to hypoglycaemic attacks should carry or wear a bracelet giving details of their conditions and instructions for treatment in an emergency.

6] To help prevent foot problems to which older diabetics are especially prone, attention should be paid daily to the condition of the feet. Wash them and wear clean socks or tights every day and make sure that shoes are comfortable and do not pinch or rub the skin. Have any corns, calluses or in-growing toenails treated promptly by a chiropodist. Do not risk making a foot problem worse by treating it yourself and at all times wear shoes even in the house. Walking bare footer in the house can accidentally injure your foot and may lead to gangrene if not immediately treated.

There is no cure for diabetes so far and anti-diabetes tablets should be taken promptly according to your doctors advice. These tablets do not contain insulin but contain drugs which either help the pancreas to produce insulin or help the body to use sugar more effectively. Unfortunately some can produce side effects like low blood sugar attacks, sickness, diarrhoea and rashes. There are many books on dietary rules, foods and food tables to help diabetes.

In the spiritual sense, my Heavenly Teacher JiGong said, To gain a healthy body, what you people study generally is just Physiological or Bodily Hygiene. Yet, there is still an important subject that you have not put to practise the Psychological or Mental Hygiene. The so-called Mental Hygiene is to reduce thinking and decreases desires and to be clear and calm at all times. This is the highest form of Mental Hygiene. When ones Clarity and Serenity (clearness and calmness) have reached the ultimate point, one becomes a Buddha and becomes omniscient (all-knowing). Lao-Tzu said; if Man can stay clear and calm at all times, the heavens and earth shall all return (to his Essential Mind).

Life goes on and if you have diabetes, you have to learn how to live with it and you can still lead a normal life. More important is to have mental hygiene because it is regarding the soul. People say, The disease of the soul is more dangerous than the disease of the body. The body will die one day but the soul lives forever. The body is the false self and the soul is the true self. In the teachings of Tao of Heaven, we have to use the false self to save the true self for eternity.

Author: T.A Chew