Bump, thought Id nudge see if there were new thoughts/views on the topic?
What do the techniques of meditation do SPECIFICALLY for our particular diabetes issues??? Can it effect hammer toes? Will it reduce my blood pressure, or our blood sugar if we perform particular technique(s)???
Or is it more of a blanket tool, something for only general well being, not specific issues/concerns?
Are there good āguided meditationā CDās/videos that members of the group can recommend?
yea can anyone recommend, CDās or dvd, i will like to get in-to this, ?.
@Melitta, Hi there,
is this Sharon Salzberg, to whom you refer in your discussion? - YouTube
Her voice and demeanor is very calming.
Yes, Sharon Salzberg, the insight meditation teacher. She is awesome! And yes, her voice is very soothing. She has some great books, as well, such as Real Happiness.
@lh378, I forgot to flag you with the @! Sharon Salzbergās books often contain CDs that are great for meditation. I am fortunate that Sharon is longtime friends with my yoga teacher, so this month Sharon will be giving a talk at the yoga studio that I go to.
thanks for info, on what books, i take a look,.
Was seriously injured about four months ago. Neuro surgery was required. Kinda sorta getting back on my feet, and been exploring old projects like this one in the meantime
First.
Found a guy named Joseph Nelson in MN who does this type of work specifically. He is a clinical psychologist, and a Type 1 diabetic himself.
Been chatting with some other people in other states, weāll see what I am able to share once/if I get a little further. My question remains; what does or wonāt āMindfulnessā techniques help with? Will it address things like:
Frozen shoulders,
Hammer toes,
Flashbacks,
Weird/bad diabetic memories,
Perceptions (reflections) of hypo events whether new/old
Awareness of perceptions about ones diabetes
Trigger finger,
Background retinopathy,
Lipo hypertrophy,
High cornia pressure
Take your pick, insert the physical annoyance of choice
Gonna assume, MBSR, Mindfulness techniques are intended and useful how we mentally perceive and frame things. Likely not too helpful with the physical issues of diabetes Im guessing.
Anybody with experience have thoughts on this?
Iām actually a mindfulness practitioner and some of my research is on it. I think it can be very useful, and, at the same time, itās currently vastly overhyped as a cure-all. It is not going to cure most of those physical directly. It may help you cope with the stress around them and the stress in your world, and through reduced stress and distress, your physical health and inflammation levels may overall benefit, thus indirectly improving a range of things. But anyone suggesting it as a direct treatment on that kind of precise, physical level should probably be taken with many grains of salt. There are compelling studies demonstrating the effects of mindfulness training on many outcomes; there are also many null findings that never see the light of day. Again, I say this as an insider in this field and someone who generally thinks mindfulness practice can be very useful and utilizes it myself.
Itās something Iāve just begun to scratch the surface of. Hard to say how it might specifically affect your coping, I think generally just not passing judgements on ones own thoughts and experiences is a pillar of the practice and can be beneficial across a broad section of life.
I was first introduced to it through guided meditation podcasts (there are many)
One of my favorite speakers in that realm, as mentioned by Melita, is Sharon Salzburg who wrote the book / program āReal Happinessā
I also purchased the Great Courses program on mindfulness meditation and havenāt had a chance to dig into it yet (Iām a big fan of many of their courses
I think mindfulness is a discipline it would take a long time to build the skills in but it would be a worthwhile investment for anyone willing to put the effort in
I have been using Mindful meditation for about 2.5 years now. Not always regularly but find that when I do I am definitly more relaxed, more positive and less stressed. I will usually use guided meditations which are abundant on utube and I have an app that has tons. Also my pain doctor told me to get Dr. Katz book/cd about mindful meditations for chronic pain, which I did but have not really started it yet.
Also my pain doctor told me to get Dr. Katz book/cd about mindful meditations for chronic pain, which I did but have not really started it yet.
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Sorry I put the wrong name of the Dr. I always want to call him Dr.Katz but it is Jon Kabat-Zinn as mentioned in a previous post
Outstandingā¦ given your experience with such techniques IYHO there a distinction between MBSR and other forms of behavior or cognitive techniques specific to diabetes in particular?
Tragically cost is a serious factor at this point. No 1 to 1, or small groups even remotely nearby. Those doing so commercially the costs are excessiveā¦ prohibitively so.
Trying to figure out, understand some tools before exploring em.
None of thatās necessary. There are plenty of audiobooks, books, videos, podcasts, whatever youāre into that can introduce the subject to you and at least see if itās something you think worth pursuing Wealth is not necessaryā¦
Sam19 Thank you for respondingā¦
Very true. That said personal supervision by the most experienced person available saves vast time.
Before I dig far deeper simply trying to determine what the tools are AND how they apply to our issues as diabetics specifically.
A blanket is a excellantl tool but if what one needs is really socksā¦
Trying to figure out how MBSR tools and techniques apply. If/when I can find or find affordable is a different creature
Well, I think that mindfulness (whether taught in MBSR or otherwise; MBSR is great, but there are plenty of other perfectly good ways to learn these skills) and acceptance-based approaches are particularly useful when we are dealing with things that are difficult and challenging and also here to stay, much like many aspects of diabetes. Traditional cognitive and behavioral approaches are very change-oriented, and this has its placeāwe certainly all need to make changes sometimes, including in our diabetes management, and traditional CBT is great at helping people do that. However, a lot of long-term challenges with diabetes or any chronic illness is what do we do with the parts of it we canāt change or that continue to be difficult no matter what we do? Thatās when learning how to accept our reality is essential. Acceptance here doesnāt mean āapproveā of it; rather, it means to acknowledge the present situation we find ourself in for what it is, rather than focusing on what we think it āshouldā be. So in general, mindfulness can be a useful tool to help increase our ability to tolerate the stress of managing diabetes and to increase our willingness to engage in the challenges of managing it.
Example: if my blood sugar is 217, I could think about how awful that is and beat myself up thinking about how it should be better and ruminate about how I keep screwing up my diabetes control. Thatās probably just going to get me frustrated, depressed, and on my way to feeling overwhelmed/burned out though, and, ironically, might lead to less willingness to test next time if I know that if itās a ābadā blood sugar, Iām going to go through all of that. I might end up avoiding testing as a result. Practicing mindfulness in that moment would ideally help me take a few breaths, a step back, recognize that the thoughts Iām having about it all are thoughts going through my head. Iād take a moment and notice my reaction. Iād acknowledge that Iām frustrated and that my blood sugar is higher than I wanted it to be. I wouldnāt try to make myself feel any differently, but rather than continuing in my head to beat myself up, Iād try to shift my attention back to the moment at hand. To focus on what Iām going to DO NOW that would be helpful to myself. I might decide to take some insulin and go for walk, and Iād do myself to engage myself in those activities, and if I notice myself starting to get mad at myself for the high blood sugar again, notice that too, but then gently bring my attention back to whatever is around me during my walk, say.
MBSR is one of many interventions that includes mindfulness. Itās a good one, and there are many other approaches as well, and it varies tremendously what works for people, just like with any other treatment/approach. You can certainly use the materials on your own; I will say, that often a lot is gained from working through them with an experienced therapist/instructor, especially around the concept of acceptance, which often is very challenging for folks to practice (relative to the present-centered awareness components of mindfulness, which are more straightforward). A book I like on that topic specifically though is Radical Acceptance by Tara Brach (I believe she also has a podcast)āsheās great. I also very much like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT, pronouced like the word āactā), which been shown in RCTs to improve diabetes control. That approach also incorporates mindfulness, as well as identifying personal values and using them to guide action, and often has a more intellectual approach than MBSR (which has more of the meditation class vibe throughout). Thereās a self-help book for ACT called Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life by Steven Hayes that is not specific to diabetes (no more than MBSR is) that I find tends to be particularly appealing to and useful for very logical thinkers (of which there seem to be a number of here)āa lot of it can be easily applied to diabetes/any life struggle.
(Note: Iām not connected to/do not profit from any of these interventions or resources. Iāve used them in my practice though, although neither my practice nor research involves diabetesātoo close to home for my comfort.)
Stuart, I am getting the impression youāre overthinking thisā¦ this is giving me the imprsssion that you, like me, might really be a prime candidate for someone who could benefit from this way of thinking and being able to detach yourself, in certain ways, to your own thoughts. Itās not a rushed thing that youāre going to benefit from āsaving timeā in learningā¦ itās not going to solve the specific problems youāve listed (although pretty good research has shown it can lower blood pressure). Itās just about learning the skills to view the world through a little different, less stressful, less emotionally invested lensā¦ I hope you try checking it out. I find it helpful-- if you do podcasts, here is the link to one of the first ones I tuned into-- (youāll find that mindfulness and meditation are almost interchangeable terms)
Check out this great Podcast: āMindfulness Meditation Podcast on Apple Podcasts
Iām just finishing reading Full Catastrophe Living by Jon Kabat-Zinn. This book has lots of information about the benefits to those living with chronic health issues or just stress in general. I just ordered the CDs that go along with the book, and am hoping to work some mindfulness meditation into my morning routine once I receive them.
However, a lot of long-term challenges with diabetes or any chronic illness is what do we do with the parts of it we canāt change or that continue to be difficult no matter what we do? Thatās when learning how to accept our reality is essential. Acceptance here doesnāt mean āapproveā of it; rather, it means to acknowledge the present situation we find ourself in for what it is, rather than focusing on what we think it āshouldā be. So in general, mindfulness can be a useful tool to help increase our ability to tolerate the stress of managing diabetes and to increase our willingness to engage in the challenges of managing it.
In response to Stuart; what cardamom said in her post is exactly how I use mindfulness; it helps me to be able to step back, examine my feelings. Mediation helps me to get a better perspective on what is my reality at that time and be able to accept it. For me this reduces the stresses so I can cope with my challenges. I didnāt think mindfulness would do anything but for me it really does. I donāt know if it would help the diabetes but it does help with the challenges that come with having diabetes just like cardmom says in her post. Hope this helps.