A friend and I were recently talking about our health. He said to me, “I just want to be normal.” Though he was heading to rehab the next day for alcohol addiction, and I have diabetes, I knew exactly how he felt. The tiny part of him that was resistant to recovery was holding on to the dream of normalcy, being able to just get a drink like everyone else. And that is something I also struggle with on this journey toward health. Sometimes, I just want to eat what I want, like a “normal” person.

1. Dealing With Diabetes Denial: Getting
Past the ‘Not-Normal’ Blues
By Tara Bellucci
Published Nov 6, 2014
A friend and I were recently talking about our health. He said to me, “I just want to
be normal.” Though he was heading to rehab the next day for alcohol addiction,
and I have diabetes, I knew exactly how he felt. The tiny part of him that was
resistant to recovery was holding on to the dream of normalcy, being able to just
get a drink like everyone else. And that is something I also struggle with on this
journey toward health. Sometimes, I just want to eat what I want, like a “normal”
person.
I understand his ambivalence, because diabetes feels like it’s not totally my
fault. I have diabetes, not because I was born with a faulty pancreas, but partly
because I grew up in a society that sells sugar and convenience foods, largely
unchecked and with abandon. Just like cigarettes and cocaine, once marketed —
to children, even! — as having health benefits. Just like they sell drinking as the
way people have fun, relax, and socialize. Sure, I choose what to put in my
mouth, but when you have an addiction — be it booze, sugar, or anything else —
it makes you forget that you have a choice.
But, I have to keep reminding myself that placing blame doesn’t help me. Wishing
my situation were different doesn’t help me. It just gives me a reason to feel
righteous and victimized, which doesn’t make me healthier, and actually makes
me feel worse. It’s easy to stay in denial. It’s the things that are sometimes hard
to do that make me feel better, such as eating real food, moving my body, and
allowing time for rest and relaxation.
To beat the “not-normal” blues, I’m keeping a gratitude journal. When you’re
actively reflecting on what you’re thankful for, there’s no space in that moment to

2. feel the things you lack. By reminding ourselves of what we truly have, and how
lucky we are to have it, whatever you don’t have seems much less important.
Have you ever felt in denial about your health? How did you get past it?
Posted in: Type 2 Diabetes