I recently finished reading “Diabetes and Wellbeing” by Dr. Jen Nash, and I really enjoyed it.
Subtitled “Managing the psychological and emotional challenges of diabetes types 1 and 2” Dr. Nash set out to help us find some good ways to deal with the challenges we face dealing with the daily demands of diabetes.
Dr. Nash is a Clinical Psychologist near London, is the founder and director of PositiveDiabetes.com and has lived with type 1 diabetes since she was six years old. She says she went into psychology to figure herself out, but I think it’s something she’s just naturally good and we all got lucky that she found her calling right away. 🙂
Diabetes and Wellbeing covers a really wide range of focus areas. Take a look at some of the areas Dr. Nash covers:
- Dealing with diagnosis
- Depression, low mood and burnout
- Fear, anxiety and worry
- Food, weight and emotions
- Relationships
- Implementing change
- Managing setbacks
There were many areas that really hit home for me, and many sections of the book where it seemed Dr. Nash could see exactly what was inside my head and already knew many of the things I struggle with. I found myself dog earing page after page, often even scribbling notes in the page margins.
One of the biggest takeaways from Diabetes and Wellbeing was a sense of normalcy to struggle with so many of these things. And to have a permission, of sorts, to explore these areas of diabetes that are not talked about enough.
It gave me some tools and resources to explore these areas in my own head, which is something I’m often simply afraid to do, and it also helped equip me to have difficult conversations with my healthcare providers if necessary.
Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Diabetes
This book takes an explicit Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) approach to making changes, and that was an approach that was agreed upon between Dr. Nash & her publishers before starting the book. Dr. Nash said that it’s just one of many different approaches that she uses to help people, but you should know before starting that you’ll find only the CBT approach here.
The NHS website does a good job of explaining what CBT is if you are curious to learn more. I know that both Dr. Nash and the resource I offer here for CBT information are both from London, but that’s just a neat coincidence. This type of therapy is used widely around the world.
That’s actually a great transition into something else I’d like to mention. Dr. Nash is from London, so there will be a few “UK’isms” that may catch you off guard. That typically means an extra “u” somewhere (colour vs. color, or behaviour vs behavior, for example), but you might notice other things that don’t quite fit. Wasn’t a big deal for me, but I’d be interested to know if you find other things that just don’t seem right to you as a reader from a different local. I’m sure Dr. Nash would love to know as well.
Resources
Dr. Nash closes Diabetes and Wellbeing with a list of resources, where I was pleasantly surprised to be listed, along with many other greats, as a motivational and support resource. Thank you, Dr. Nash! Very cool! 🙂
Discount Code! Dr. Nash has graciously offered a 20% discount code that you can use to order Diabetes and Wellbeing if you’re interested. Visit www.wiley.com/go/nashdiabeteswellbeing and use code NASH1 when checking out.
Diabetes Hope Conference
I’m also thrilled to share that Dr. Nash is joining us as a panelist for the 2014 Diabetes Hope Conference! Shortly after reading her book and connecting with her via Skype to chat, I asked her to get involved. She will bring an awesome perspective to our panel about the patient/doctor relationship, and I’m very excited to watch it! I hope you can tune in, too.
To learn more and register for your free (virtual) seat, please go to DiabetesHopeConference.com.
Disclosure: Dr. Nash sent me a free copy of Diabetes and Wellbeing, but did not ask me to write about it. I really enjoyed it, found it helpful, and wanted to share it with all of you.