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Obstacles to good self-care
A diabetes
educator once talked about a patient of hers who announced one summer morning,
'I'm going to take a vacation from my diabetes.' You can take a vacation from work,
from chores, from many aspects of daily life. It's healthy to take a vacation. But
not from diabetes. It's an around-the-clock condition.
Because
diabetes never goes away, it's understandable to feel angry. And sometimes people
with diabetes pretend to themselves that they don't really have diabetes or that
their condition isn't serious enough to require much attention. The truth is that
anger and denial can make you sick if these feelings keep you from taking medication,
eating properly, exercising or going to the doctor when you should.
Denial
There are some sentences that
can clue you that you may be in denial and hurting yourself. Some of these include:
- Everyone else is having a second helping; it won't hurt if I do, too.
- I don't have to worry about my diabetes because I'm not taking insulin.
- I'll just wait to see the doctor. This sore will heal if I give it time.
- I don't have time to go to the doctor, call the dietitian, talk to the
diabetes educator, exercise, etc.
If these
sentences are familiar, call your diabetes educator today. Together you can make
a plan to accept your condition, set some health goals and reach them.
Anger
Some people
are very angry about having a chronic disease. Recognize and accept that you may
be angry about having diabetes. Reduce stress by exercising or Click on
Manage Stress to see how to manage stress related to anger. If you need to, see a counselor
about these feelings.
Depression
Having the 'blues' for more than
a couple of weeks can be an indicator of depression. Depression is not uncommon
for people with diabetes or any other chronic disease. However, left untreated,
depression can keep you from managing your diabetes and can affect your mental
and physical health in other ways. Talk to your doctor if you are having these
symptoms:
- Eating or sleeping more or less
- No energy - feeling tired
- Nervous and unable to concentrate
- Disturbed sleep, trouble falling asleep or early waking
- Crying, feeling like a burden to others
- Taking no pleasure in life
- Feeling like you want to die or hurt yourself
Depression
is a treatable condition. It's very important to reach out to your health care
team if you feel you are becoming depressed.
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