Emotional Health :: Diabetes Self-Management

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One very important—and oft-neglected—aspect of diabetes self-management is looking after your emotional health. Dealing with diabetes 24 hours a day, seven days a week, can certainly take its toll on your emotional well-being. Conversely, stress and negative emotions can take their toll on blood glucose control. Check out the articles in this section for tips on managing stress, dealing with depression, communicating with your loved ones, and finding support groups and other kinds of help.

Depression by Paula M. Trief, PhD

Depression is a serious concern for anyone, and no less so when a person has diabetes. Studies have shown that if you have both diabetes and depression, you are more likely to have high blood glucose, diabetes-related complications, and a shortened life span. While this may be because seriously depressed people typically don’t take as good care of themselves, researchers think that the link may go beyond that. Fueling their suspicions are the facts that the incidence of depression is higher among people with diabetes than in the general population and that being depressed raises the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes…

Diabetes and Your Marriage by Paula M. Trief, Ph.D.

It’s hard to have a chronic illness like diabetes. You have to watch your weight, make healthy food choices, exercise, take insulin or oral medicines in many cases, and see several health-care providers on a regular basis. But there’s more…

Diabetes Blogs by Allison Blass

Blog. It sounds like something you would say when you are feeling under the weather (“I’m feeling so blog today…”), but it is actually short for Web log, a regularly updated online journal. Blogs were originally used by people who…

Also inside: Getting Started With Blogs

Eight Tips For Managing Diabetes Distress by Lawrence Fisher, PhD

Many people experience considerable distress about having diabetes and the amount of hands-on management that diabetes requires. This often includes frustration with the ongoing obligations of diet, physical activity, blood glucose monitoring, and taking…

Navigating Mental Health Care by Joseph B. Nelson, M.A., L.P.

Navigating the process of seeking mental health care and then getting it is a daunting task for many. Even if it feels like you are adrift and have reached the point where you need therapy, making that final decision can still be uncomfortable. A range…

Stress: Finding Peace Amid the Storm by Laura Hieronymus, M.S.Ed., A.P.R.N., B.C.-A.D.M., C.D.E., and Patti Geil, M.S., R.D., C.D.E.

“Serenity is not freedom from the storm, but peace amid the storm.”—Unknown

Everyone experiences stress in life, and people with diabetes are no exception. In fact, diabetes itself can be a source of much stress. While stress is often perceived…

Also inside: Symptoms of Depression

Updating Your Coping Skills by Reji Mathew, PhD

The journey of managing a chronic illness often follows a bumpy road with unexpected twists and turns. Successfully taking charge of any chronic condition requires good medical care, access to resources, and social support. Often, however, it’s a…

Yoga by Susan Shaw

I gathered my legs underneath me to get off the floor, like a minute-old foal finding out what her body is for. Emotionally, I was flying. And, unexpectedly, I had been crying. I had discovered how to live inside my body with gentleness.

How did…

Also inside: Yoga Resources

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