Have you ever felt like you are on an emotional roller coaster when you see your blood glucose (sugar) readings going up and down with no clear explanation? You’re not alone!
Mental health
Diabetes and mental health are very closely linked.
Everyone can feel stressed from time to time. Managing your diabetes, as well as other life demands, can feel very overwhelming. Emotional swings can affect your blood sugar levels, so it's important that you know how to recognize mood changes or stressors and how to deal with them.
It is estimated that 30% of people with diabetes have symptoms of depression at one time or another. Sometimes people living with diabetes feel distressed, which can include feeling frustrated, sad, angry or worried. Diabetes distress is a very common condition, so do not feel that you are alone.
The articles in this mental health section explore these and other commonly seen emotional and psychological issues, and offer helpful tips on how to cope and develop management strategies.
Coping strategies for a diabetes diagnosis
Our mental health is intrinsically linked with our physical health; when we have a change in one domain, we experience a shift in the other. Getting a diagnosis of diabetes can result in a range of emotions, especially around the time of diagnosis.
Build resilience by navigating your diabetes with a growth mindset
Living with diabetes can often feel like a relentless battle, where the ebb and flow of blood sugar levels, the constant monitoring and the looming threat of complications can weigh heavily on one’s shoulders. It’s a journey that demands resilience
“Should you be eating that?” Exposing diabetes stigma
Stigma arises out of the attitudes, beliefs and assumptions made about those with diabetes by people without diabetes that are part of societal norms.
Diabetes self-care: the power of purpose
By having a deep sense of purpose, which is a deeper reason for taking care of your diabetes, the daily steps of care can become easier to accept. Purpose, in the case of diabetes, is the active choice of why you do something.
Diabetes distress
Living with diabetes can be stressful. For some, the stress goes beyond everyday concern and leads to a condition known as diabetes distress.
