TED for diabetes book review

I was given and awesome chance to preview the book, "TED for Diabetes" by David Emerald & Scott Conrad M.D.

I don't think this book could have come to me at a better time.

As many of my readers know, I have Type 2 Diabetes. This disease has many challenges that come with it. Some are just little annoyances in my daily life and some effect it in huge ways.

I think just about anyone who suffers from a chronic illness goes through periods where they just as soon forget about having it and try the denial. I have been doing that for about a year.

When I was first diagnosed, I would monitor my BS on schedule, watch my portions and what I was eating and try to exercise. For months now, I have slowly just fallen back into old habits and in a way tried to deny the fact that I have diabetes.

This has had some terrible consequences. First, I have gained weight. This will make it harder for me to get my diabetes under control. Second, I have stopped watching my diet. I eat what I want, when I want and however much I want. I feel the effects of this as well in my neuropathy and the obvious weight gain. Third, I have stopped being diligent on checking blood sugar levels and therefore have seen my diabetes advance and I get caught off-guard with "lows" (a low is when the blood sugar levels drop below normal and this can make a diabetic person feel very sick and even slip into a coma).

I think I did this because I was just "sick of being sick!" and I had a poor attitude about having the diagnosis of diabetes.

TED for diabetes has helped change my attitude. This book is not just a diabetes management book. It is about creating a positive mind-frame so a diabetic can feel more in control of their illness.

TED stands for The Empowerment Dynamic. I think when a person feels empowered, they can change a lot in their lives and diabetic management is no exception.

Almost every diabetic I know has a ton of books about their illness, how to manage their illness, cookbooks on how to cook for their illness and just general topic books related to diabetes. TED is so different from any of that because it looks at the emotional and whole person with diabetes. It teaches you how to train your mind to feel more empowered, less isolated and more positive.

I think anyone who is dealing with a chronic illness may even benefit from this book as it is filled with useful positive motivation.

TED can be purchased on Amazon.com