Diabetes Burnout: What to Do When You Can't Take It Anymore

When I picked up Diabetes Burnout, I was truly amazed. Dr. Polonsky understands that there are "barriers to self-care," real life problems and situations that get in the way of doing what's best for our bodies. He knows that people make a cost/benefit analysis when it comes to self-care. If the behavior is too hard or too unpleasant, and the rewards don't seem worth it, we're not going to consistently exercise, check sugars, or eat what we're supposed to. This problem is not just true for people with diabetes. It applies to anyone with chronic illness, or really, to anybody at all. I knew about this from living with multiple sclerosis, and I wrote about it in my book. But I didn't think anybody else had developed these ideas. I was sure Dr. Polonsky must have some kind of chronic condition himself, because he knows what it's like. But he doesn't have an illness. He's just very insightful.I really like the humor in this book. I know some reviewers accuse him of being "cutesy" or Disneyfying diabetes, but I think being able to laugh at your situation helps, even when it's really painful. His description of "werewolf eating" and "Diabetes police" are highly evocative -- they get the point across. I don't think he's talking down to anyone -- he has compassion for people's struggles and wants us to feel better.It's true that Diabetes Burnout does not cite its sources very well and doesn't contain a lot of specific info on diets or other self-care practices. But that's not its purpose. He is giving tools for identifying and overcoming our barriers -- social, practical, psychological or economic. This is important -- some of those barriers may have been with us for decades, and overcoming them can change not just diabetes management, but also entire lives. He also inspires by telling stories of real people he has worked with, who have made great strides in difficult circumstances. It's entertaining, inspiring and educational (just like my book :-). What more do you want?David Spero RN, author of The Art of Getting Well: Maximizing Health When You Have a Chronic Illness (Hunter House 2002) and the upcoming Politics of Diabetes: Social Causes, Costs and Cures of an Epidemic (2005). www.davidsperoRN.com

He makes some really stellar points and has already helped me begin changing over to a more "problem solving" approach, rather than my previous approach to type 2 diabetes, which could best be termed "denial and despair".I think that removing the 'stinger' from long-term diabetes care requires a bit of pseudo-professional detachment. Rather than seeing my diabetes as a great dramatic production, with me as the tragic heroine, his book is helping me to see it as a series of discreet problems needing solutions (where possible) and acceptance (where no solution is possible).You'd have to know me to know what a drastic change this is from my normal way of being: 'Drama Queen' just doesn't do me justice!Anyway, I recommend his book to ANYONE with a chronic illness, diabetic or not. In fact, one could just replace the words 'diabetes' with 'obesity' and instantly turn his book into the best thing I have EVER read on the subject of long-term, permanent weight control. His approach speaks to any long-term health struggle even though it is explicitly (and skillfully) directed at diabetes and diabetics.

I'm a diabetic and have been for 4 years. Living with diabetes later on in my life is living in a nightmare of having the feelings of "I've had enough".......BURNOUT.On recommendation I bought this book with the thought "another book about facts and figures and how the perfect diabetic should rule his/her life".On the first pages it goes straight into stories of real people who are going through what I'm going through "thank goodness I'm not the only one". At this point in my nightmare I wasn't looking for strategies on how to deal with this, only to know that diabetics who were in the same situation felt an dealt with it the same as me.In this book there are sections which have questionnaires to make you really think about how you feel and think about your diabetes. These sections are labelled so you can tell which are relevant to you, so you don't have to read from beginning to end like other books and still feel none the wiser.I enjoyed the way Polonsky uses humorous names like diabetic police, werewolf syndrome and sugar fairy. At last situations that made me angry and frustrated now make me chuckle to myself and deal with it in a calmer manner.I would recommend this book to anyone and wish I had read it the beginning of my diabetes which would have helped me like it has helped me now.WELL DONE DR. POLONSKY !

This book belongs in the home of anyone who is affected by diabetes. Whether it be you or a loved one. Type I or Type IIIf you have been stressed out about diabetes and cant quiet figure out why, you need this book. If a loved one has diabetes and it seems that everything you say to them about diabetes is wrong, you need this book.William Polonsky is very insightful on this subject. I have been struggling with Type I diabetes for 15 years and have read many books on the subject. What I like about this book it that it is "interactive" This books gives you direction. It gives you hope. Diabetes is a tough thing to go through and this book validates your feelings. It handles objectives in a very clear manner. Its not just a bunch of information thrown at you. Dr. Polonsky suggests ways to include the information that he writes about in very real situations. This book is uplifting, refreshing, direct, (humorous too!) Its like he wrote the book for me! My diabetes management has been easier since I have read this book. It makes me aware and gives me the tools I need to obtain my goals. It is written in such a way that if I start slipping in one area I can refer back to the book and get back on track. I KNOW with this book I can overcome Diabetes Burnout!Thank you Dr. Polonsky!-Karen Law

This book makes one very simple and yet elusive concept quite clear to me. As someone who does not suffer from Diabetes, I have watched friends and their children deal with the day to day care of their illness. For me, it has been a curiosity. Something I have taken for granted and not thought much about. As observers, we forget that those who suffer from Diabetes are the same as the rest of us. They have bad days and good. They suffer from depression, stress, and boredom just like the rest of us. And to think that these day to day human experiences might affect the care we take in administering to a disorder like Diabetes is so simple and yet so profound. I now look at those in my life with this disease in a new light. Perhaps an additional level of understanding and empathy. Through the testaments offered up in this book, I see how there are days or years when someone might reasonably feel like saying, "I don't want to be a Diabetic anymore!" And how this feeling can lead a person to stop caring for himself or herself.I don't know if William Polonsky has all of the answers to overcoming what he calls "Diabetes Burnout". But I know that this book can serve those of us who love people with this disease to become better partners in their struggle to maintain good and healthy lives.