Really? You Think So?

I'll start off by saying that, with the exception of one accident where I got my insulin bottles/ doses mixed up due to exhaustion and distraction, my blood sugars have been quite decent. I'm pleased with what I'm doing, everything I'm doing, and outlook appears good, as the eight ball says, or something like that.
A few nights ago at the VA, during an especially slow stretch of the night, I found myself hanging out with one of the nurses that I don't get to talk to often. She's one of the few there who's conversation I enjoy because she's intelligent, down to earth and can give and take a good joke. Like I said, there are not many that fit that description, anywhere, and they are probably the only people I say more than a few words to at the hospital. But once this girl starts going, it's ike she'll never stop. Usually an annoying trait, yet when it's an interesting person I could talk, or listen, for hours. So, diabetes popped up because I was showing her the OmnniPod website. I was surpried to hear this medical professional say that she thought that diabetes was the most difficult disease to have. More than surprised. When it comes to diabetes, statements like "It's not that bad," "It could be worse," and "Plenty of people live normal lives with diabetes" are more typical. Of course, it's all kind of true, I believe them myself, for the most part. This exceptional critical care nurse went on to explain, with several examples from professional experiences, that she feels this way because not many diseases affect your ENTIRE system, every little bit. We agreed that this thought is extremely overwhelming, paralyzing many into a self destructive stagnancy, and that the mental fray, like most stuggles in life, is the most fretful aspect of the disease. People that make those statements, about how it's not so bad, may not realize that, to me, it feels like they are inadvertantly trivializing the piece of me that weighs down my soul like a sack of rocks tied around my waist in the middle of the ocean. I drowned in my disease for years. It's still difficult to breathe some days.
Now that I am more confident in my ability to overcome and succeed, my perception and cognition must be clearer because I hear these kinds of comments more and more. Maybe, since coming to the VA, I just find myself surounded by a few more understanding people when it comes to this sort of thing. Maybe, maybe, maybe. The point is, I feel the way I feel sometimes, and all I can do about it is accept it and deal with it. But that it's possibe I'm not just obsessed with self pity and drama, that these feelings are justified, actually makes them significanly easier to get over. Just goes to show you how a little effort and understanding can really lighten the load. Every once in awhile, it can be life-saving.