A diagnosis of Type 1 Diabetes adds an emotional weight that is a challenge to bear, day in and day out, because it is a chronic condition that requires diligent 24/7/365 management. This grueling schedule is a burden, leading to other common emotions or conditions, causing even more difficulty managing your blood sugar levels. Many people experience the same emotions associated with loss and find themselves experiencing a grieving period. After all, you have lost something. You’ve lost the normal carefree life you had before. Simply put, Type 1 Diabetes changes your life.

 

Sometimes this weight can manifest itself in different ways; such as anxiety or depression. Depression is more common in people with diabetes compared with the general population. A depressive mood leads to poorer physical and mental functioning, making it more difficult to manage diabetes and leading to:

 

• poor blood glucose management

• diabetes-related health problems

• decreased quality of life

• increased family problems

• higher health-care costs

 

While you cannot get rid of stress completely, you can effectively learn how to manage it so that it doesn’t cause even more damage to your T1D management efforts. If your stress seems to be surrounding the challenge of diabetes management, here's a few things you can try:

 

• establish clear goals

• keep regularly scheduled appointments

• set reminders for medication

• join T1D forums, network with people who truly understand

• ask for help

 

Depression often goes undiagnosed and untreated. Individuals with diabetes should be regularly screened by their health-care provider. If they don't ask you, you should ask them! It is important for T1Ds to be aware of the symptoms of depression, as untreated depression can have a negative impact on management, with worse glycemic control and suboptimal response to treatment.

 

Common symptoms include:

• no longer finding pleasure in activities that you once enjoyed

• experiencing insomnia or sleeping too much

• loss of appetite or binge eating

• inability to concentrate

• feeling lethargic

• feeling anxious or nervous all the time

• feeling isolated and alone

• feeling sad in the morning

• feeling that you "never do anything right"

• having suicidal thoughts

• harming yourself