Can a Positive Mindset Give You an Edge Over Diabetes?
Key takeaways:
Christian Carrion, whose father had Type 2 diabetes, was diagnosed with the disease as a college student.
He was overwhelmed and depressed thinking about managing the disease without a steady income.
He developed coping mechanisms, received help from GoodRx, learned how to maintain a positive attitude, which he says brings great opportunities his way.
Christian Carrion, who has Type 2 diabetes, says he sincerely believes “your attitude determines your latitude.”
“I would advise that a newly diagnosed diabetic be as optimistic as possible,” Christian says. “Do things that bring you joy.”
What else would you expect from a six-time game show contestant?
Photo by © Kayla James
Christian, who’s 34, isn’t one to be held back by his condition. He’s appeared on “Hollywood Squares,” “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and four other game shows since his college days at Southern Connecticut State University. Now, he hosts a podcast on game shows for the National Archives of Game Show History at the Strong National Museum of Play in Rochester, New York.
The hotel manager from Lancaster, Pennsylvania, credits a positive attitude for his game show appearances, his podcast success, and many of the other opportunities he’s been given. But it wasn’t always that way, he says. When he was first diagnosed with diabetes as a college student, he was overwhelmed and intimidated thinking about how to manage the disease.
“When I think about first getting diagnosed, and when I think about how I felt during those couple years, I wish that at that point in my life I had developed the sort of mental and emotional intelligence to be kinder to myself,” Christian says.
A family history of Type 2 diabetes
Christian is more prepared than most when it comes to living with diabetes, as he explains in a TikTok video for GoodRx. Since Christian was born, his father has had Type 2 diabetes. And his mother was diagnosed later in life.
“I remember my mom getting a phone call from the car mechanic, who said, ‘Hey, your husband had a seizure in the waiting room. We have to call him an ambulance,’” Christian says.
When he was 11 or 12, his father took the whole family for a visit with a nutritionist.
“As a family, we learned what a carbohydrate was, learned what excess sugar was, learned how many carbs and how much sugar should be in a meal,” he says. “We learned about insulin resistance and diabetes and prediabetes and all those sorts of supplementary information.”
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So Christian wasn’t really surprised when, as a college student not really watching his diet, he was diagnosed with diabetes in 2009.
“So much of the college experience revolved around getting together and having lunch, getting together and having pizza, going to somebody’s house and having snacks,” he says. “You go to the big social event on the quad and there’s going to be ice cream. There's always some kind of food as an accessory to social gatherings and social events, and I’m a very social person.”
His familiarity with Type 2 diabetes was a positive. But he immediately worried about the costs of managing the disease. He was employed, but only part time.
“Being a college student, it is a very intimidating sort of disease to have,” he says of Type 2 diabetes. “There’s so much equipment, so much purchasing, so many financial considerations: insurance and copays, needles and testers, and all the stuff that comes with having diabetes.”
Not being able to afford the tools he needed to manage his diabetes sent the normally positive Christian into depression.
“It used to make me really sad, because there is a sort of intrinsic hopelessness that’s baked into that idea that I can’t afford to manage this disease,” he says. “It definitely took a toll on my mental health those first few years.”
GoodRx coupons help control costs
At some point, Christian saw a commercial about GoodRx and how it can help with medical costs. He calls it serendipity — a stroke of luck at the right time.
With his GoodRx card, he saves nearly $1,400 a month on the pills, insulin pens, and equipment he needs to manage his disease. Without the coupons, it would be difficult to afford everything. For example, his medications alone include:
Lantus, long-acting insulin he takes once nightly
Humalog, a fast-acting insulin he takes before meals
Metformin, a pill he takes with meals, twice daily
Lipitor, a pill he takes once daily
“The empowerment that comes with being able to get everything that I need — and the confidence, in my mind, that I have what I need in order to manage this thing — has helped in terms of my physical health. But that also helped with my mental health,” he says. “I just felt better about myself because I was taking care of myself.”
But it hasn’t been all smooth sailing. Christian was laid off from his job during the COVID-19 pandemic and was at home a lot. Because of that, he struggled with managing his diabetes. With his positive mindset slipping again, he sought help from his doctor.
New technology makes managing diabetes easier
When Christian reached out for help during the pandemic, his doctor recommended he try a new technology to help him manage his diabetes. After 10 years of pricking his finger five times a day, he started using a continuous glucose monitor. He puts a small patch on his side, under his arm, and it constantly monitors his blood sugar levels and displays them on his phone.
“I'd never heard of that,” he says. “I knew there were pumps that Type 1 diabetes patients had. It’ll beep when their sugar is too high and deliver their insulin. I never wanted that. But, for this, she gave me a sample and I was blown away.”
With the help of GoodRx, he can afford to use the device, which updates his blood sugar readings every 60 seconds. That and his healthy diet — which he maintains with the help of his wife — have him back on track.
“I’m very lucky to have a supportive wife who wants to avoid the things I need to avoid,” Christian says of cooking with his wife of seven years, Cat.
Christian also avoids carbohydrates and sugar after 7PM. He works out at least three times a week and drinks eight glasses of water per day. He keeps his brain active with crossword puzzles and trivia games. And he meditates for 20 minutes every day.
The meditation helps keep his attitude at a positive latitude, Christian says. He says he thinks the good opportunities that come his way are a result of his positive mindset. And he is grateful he has developed the tools to manage his disease, which helps keep him positive.
“I think the first year or two, I failed to take it as seriously as I should have. I’m very fortunate that, over a decade later, I’m not only healthy but I have no complications,” he says.
“I credit my ability to manage my diabetes as something that has been instrumental in preserving a positive mindset. I was very sad back when I couldn't afford my medicine. I was not what I consider to be the best version of myself,” he adds. “Now, being able to enjoy that confidence — that knowledge, that stability — has been super important in guiding my mental health. I hope it's not a cliché, but I really have been able to enjoy life to the fullest.”
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