Doris,

Many thanks for your words and I'm going to keep a copy of your post - so I know how to go about it better when and if there is a next time. I'm grinning away here not feeling quite so alone here at this website anymore!

I've never claimed to be know all there is about Diabetes - far from it - and unforunately this person seemed to think I was thumping my chest being the Oprah of Diabetes Life - so far from it - I'm constantly learning news things - from others such as yourself! They have alot going on in their life right now - so obviously what I was writing just hit a mark - which was never my intention. Sometimes conveying your thoughts via written words can be tricky - as I'm sure you can attest to - since you write like I do (but with much better grammar and sentence structure then myself - you are the Master in that area).

I did see some signs - e.g. they seemed very vague as to how they managed with MDI when I questioned them - it was all over the place - and they couldn't tell me their last A1C due to not liking endo and not having time to see the. I should have seen the warning signs there - and I think I poked abit too hard about getting this info from them - but they were asking for my help - and without certain bits of info from there - it was like giving advise to a person about to defuse a bomb - dangerous.

Anyway, I had replied to their email telling them I'm still there for them if they need any advise - be it diabetic related or not (whether they opened up the email or not - is beyond me). I just will be more prepared in future when I'm asked to help someone (your tips below are VERY handy to retain in my sponge brain and for others).

-------------------------
Anna from Montreal
*****************
Diagnosed 1968
Presently using Animas 2020
Oct 2008 - A1C of 5.9

Hi RunnersHigh,

I'm like Doris below - I don't get sad or depressed too often. When I do - I just tend to go into the cave mode - and sort things out on my own - hubby knows to stand clear of me incase of flying objects going by his head. I did just deal with trying to help out a friend over the past year who was having some probs with their diabetes - and today just got the longest email from that person - telling me to take a hike. That hurt alot as I'd been trying to help them when they asked me questions and I have never claimed to be an expert in this disease. So, trying to help some people just doesn't always work as you can see. It also all depends on the person that you are trying to help. Trend lightly and keep on running (I wish my knees could handle the pavement like they used to <lol>).

-------------------------
Anna from Montreal
*****************
Diagnosed 1968
Presently using Animas 2020
Oct 2008 - A1C of 5.9

HAPPY FRIDAY!

I am always excited when I wake up on Friday knowing the weekend is about to start and I can hang out with friends and family. But how to deal with people who are down, feeling depressed, suffering or just not having a good time?

Especially in the dark, rainy and cold days of the year I think about how I can help people who are not as happy as I am. What can I do to cheer them up - if there is anything? Or what I can do to avoid feeling down - since it happens to everybody at some point.

Speaking from my own experience, if I have gone through a difficult time I always wanted to be with other people to share and get distracted. Sometimes it is stress at work, crazy traffic, relationship issues, financial problems or a mental/physical health situation which drives you off the "street of happiness".

How can I be a good friend in these situations for people who are in need of support? Shall I say something, encourage them, listen to their story, distract them or even ignore their unhappiness? Is "positive thinking" the best way to go?

Wondering what you think?