Diabetes and Psychology

Dear friends

If you have diabetes, it is not only your body who has to deal with the effects, the mind is affected too. Most diabetics cannot explain to themselves why they feel "funny" on some days, and that in spite of the blood sugar level being controlled.
I looked for an article to try and explain this "phenomenon" to myself first, and found one in my infallible source of scientific medical information: WebMed.com
One can subscribe to their news letters and receive advice on almost any medical question one might have:

Diabetes and Emotions

In this article

• Common Emotions in Diabetes
• Stress and Diabetes
• Depression and Diabetes
• Diabetes Support

Being diagnosed with diabetes brings with it a full range of emotions. Most of the emotions you may feel such as anger, sadness, confusion, and distress are normal, and these emotions may lessen with time. Still, emotions, especially strong ones, are important indicators that something might be wrong and changes might need to be made.

There's no doubt that diabetes is mentally, emotionally, and physically challenging. If you've been diagnosed with diabetes, chances are that your doctor recommended some major lifestyle changes. Whereas you may have been used to eating anything you desired, now you have to focus on losing weight, eating a different diet, checking your blood sugar levels regularly, and even taking pills or injected medications. While these changes are necessary to manage your diabetes and to keep you well, they can still be frustrating and feel different. It is normal to have strong emotions while adjusting to a new life with diabetes.

Common Emotions in Diabetes

Denial and Diabetes

After learning that you have a chronic disease such as diabetes, feeling denial is normal. You may feel that "this can't be happening to me" or that "there has been a mistake" or you will "wait for more test results" even though a doctor has confirmed the diagnosis.

Denial is often a way to cope with an overwhelming situation. By temporarily denying your diabetes, you may be able to come to terms with it slowly rather than all at once. It is important to recognize that denial should only be a temporary stage, though. To remain healthy, you should be consistent with testing your blood sugar, taking your medications, if prescribed, seeing your doctor regularly, eating healthily, and getting plenty of physical exercise.

Confusion and Diabetes

As with any disease, managing diabetes can be difficult at times. You may have trouble keeping track of all the medical jargon and understanding exactly what steps your diabetes specialist told you to do. Modern health care systems can make this worse because you may be seeing several different doctors. Each doctor may have a different take on your diabetic regime

Over time, you will get more familiar with the diabetes, the medical terminology, and the questions to ask your doctors at the visits. Still, if you're feeling confused, you may find it helpful to write out a daily lifestyle plan to keep healthy. Your plan can include a schedule of times to take your medications, times to test your blood during the day, times to exercise, some healthy eating strategies, and more. After writing the plan, show this to your doctor to make sure the steps you are taking will keep you well.

Anger and Diabetes

Because diabetes affects many different aspects of your life, anger is a normal response to a diabetes diagnosis.

But feeling angry does not have to be destructive or negative. Instead, you can make your anger work for you. Try channeling your anger to accomplish something positive. You might use your anger to assert your health needs with your doctors. Or you can use your anger to energize yourself to do things that keep you healthy, like exercising more. You can also use the energy from your anger to manage your diabetes more effectively.

Stress and Diabetes

Stress management is especially important if you have diabetes, because stress can significantly affect your ability to control your disease. If you are under emotional stress, you may skip meals, stop exercising, or forget to take your medication. Stress by itself may increase hormones that make diabetes more difficult to control. Any one or all of these behaviors can affect your blood sugar level. By learning to better cope with stress, you can help keep your diabetes under control. Here are some tips:

Keep a Positive Attitude

It is easy to see the bad in life. But thinking about the good can help you through tough times.

Be Kind to Yourself

Don't expect more of yourself than you are able to give.

Accept What You Cannot Change

Try re-framing stressful situations. Ask yourself the following questions:

• "Will this be important two years from now?"
• "Do I have control over this situation?"
• "Can I change my situation?"

The next 2 paragraphs of this article will be on the very next post. See you there.