Reclaim Your Rise: Type 1 Diabetes with Lauren Bongiorno
Lauren Bongiorno is a Nationally Board Certified Health Coach and the founder and CEO of Risely Health. Featured on the TODAY show and other media outlets, Risely helps people and families impacted by Type 1 Diabetes take ownership over their health so they can transform their life with more freedom and confidence. Lauren has lived with type 1 diabetes since she was 7 years old and has experienced firsthand that when health transforms, so does everything else - our relationships, our time, our career, our families, and, most importantly, ourselves. Each week she will bring you lessons from her own personal diabetes experience, strategies that are key to understanding your body’s patterns, and guests who will speak to everything from advances in technology to all things hormones, exercise, relationships, and mindset. All of this so that over time, you TOO can reclaim your rise.
Reclaim Your Rise: Type 1 Diabetes with Lauren Bongiorno
107. Blood Sugar + Cognitive Function, plus Creatively Communicating Your T1D Needs
There’s no doubt that our blood sugars affect our mood and cognitive function, and in this week’s episode, I’m joined by Brea Di Dato, a family and psychiatric nurse practitioner in Oregon, for a conversation that is chalk full of wisdom. Our conversation includes her story of being diagnosed at age 38, her experience with neuropathy, anxiety, and more. She paints a vision of how our joy can coexist with suffering and that the goal of life is NOT an end to suffering. Brea also shares her expertise on the role between blood sugar, cognitive function, mood, and how to effectively communicate your “grumpy space” needs to your partner.
Time Stamps:
- (04:56) Weight Loss and Brain Fog: Her Diagnosis at 38 Years Old
- (08:20) Her First 6 Months of Diagnosis
- (10:05) Neuropathy
- (12:05) How She Approaches Her Patients Now Post Diagnosis
- (13:04) The Slippery Slope of Single Data Points
- (14:53) Safety & Taking Control of Anxiety With a New Diagnosis
- (17:43) Barriers to Living
- (19:40) First Steps: Validate the Grief
- (20:48) The Coexistence of Joy and Suffering
- (22:42) A Dead Person Goal
- (23:45) Growth, Change, and Discomfort
- (26:22) Distress and Burnout
- (30:15) Reaching Out for Help
- (33:18) Diabetes, ADHD, Blood Sugar and Cognitive Function
- (35:49) Blood Sugar and Mood
- (38:41) Creative and Effective Communication of Your Needs
- (42:32) I Don’t Need You to Fix This
What to do now:
- For any person with Diabetes in Oregon who would like to talk to someone about their mental health, check out Brea’s business website https://www.pbh.health/
- Follow me @lauren_bongiorno and @riselyhealth on Instagram to stay in the loop for when new episodes drop.
- Learn more about our coaching programs HERE.
Disclaimer: Nothing you hear on the Reclaim your Rise podcast should be a substitute for personalized professional medical advice. Please always consult your physician or other medical professional before making any changes to your diet, insulin dosages, or healthcare plan.
