Distractions. No.1, Music

 Music (Distraction 1)

Dealing with my Diabetes takes it's toll on me and can be very draining. Which is why it is important that I distract myself sometimes to get my mind off things, to essentially DE-stress me. I think we all need distractions from life that will help us to be honest but for me one of my main ways to relax myself is listening to music. I 100% get that from my Mum, who was and still is obsessed with George Michael and Wham! Everyday on the way to school when I was young I would listen to his songs with my mum in the car and just from hearing his music I would pick up on the words and eventually would sing along with my mum. So, I always have had an ear for music since being 5 or 6 years old. Unfortunately, My Dad and Brother do not enjoy music like me and my Mum do, they think we are a little weird at times for enjoying so much music!

As I have grown up I have developed more of my own taste in music. I still enjoy George Michael though! Anyways, I started to get into the music I mainly listen to now around the time I was diagnosed with Diabetes. Rap/ Hip-Hop. Although when I did start enjoying this music I was scared to listen to it around my parents which is funny but now they hear it all the time with swearing left, right and centre. 

When I was diagnosed, music was quickly one of the ways I found I would be using to relax myself and distract myself from the stresses of Diabetes and other life situations. One artist in particular who is still my favorite artist, who I discovered was Logic. I relate a lot to some of his songs and it sounds dumb but his music helped me get through hard times in my life and his music still does help me to this day. I can talk about him all day about his music but I won't bore anyone with that! I do have a wide range of taste however, for example, when I was completing my first year assignments at Uni, I had country music on to help me focus which could not be more different to rap music. 

In more recent times the music that I listen to is helping me relax more than ever as life gets tougher from just growing up I guess.  The reason of this blog is to say that when you are struggling and need time to yourself and help heal you mentally in your own way then just do it! whether it is relaxing by music or playing games or reading a book, playing sports, walking, socializing, whatever it is just do it. It is important for us young people with Diabetes to try and enjoy life and not let our disease stop us and control what we do! If you find something that helps you cope when it gets hard, when your blood levels have been too high for a while and will not go down or it is the opposite and it cannot get back up to normal levels so you are struggling with lows, just take a moment to relax doing whatever you know works for you in distracting you and relaxing you. 

Parents of young people with Diabetes can even help with this. If you know your child is struggling with coping with Diabetes, let them forget about it for a moment and get them doing something you know helps relax them. Maybe this blog will help someone find their way of relaxing, regardless of if they have Diabetes or not which is good. We all need to chill out sometimes. 

Lastly, my favorite song at the moment is Lightsabers by Logic and my favorite George Michael song is Fastlove for those wondering!