Emotional Issues Of Diabetes
Writing this section is something that I have put off for some time now.
It is only the fact that I have had letters from both diabetics themselves and from their family members or friends, all asking about how to cope, not with the physical but the psychological problems associated with the disease, that has persuaded me to knuckle down and put pen to paper - or fingers to keyboard if you prefer.
Why this reluctance on my part? Well, as I have stated before, I am not a doctor, even less am I a psychiatrist, psychologist or even a councillor. My training as a microbiologist never prepared me in any way to deal with the complex world of emotions.
It is one thing to tackle the medical and technical aspects of ones own disease but quite another to handle the emotional side.
It requires one to take a good hard look at oneself and that has a way of bringing things to the surface that you would rather keep buried, and that applies not only to all you out there reading this but to the writer of this article as well!
Taking all this into account what I have to say in the following pages cannot be construed as professional advice. If you want that, make an appointment to see the appropriate expert.
What I will try to give you is information drawn from my own personal experiences, the stories others have told me and any info I have picked up from books and suchlike along the way.
Hopefully this will persuade you that you are neither alone out there, losing your marbles or becoming a downright nasty person.
You are, like every other diabetic, suffering from a chronic disease that sometimes seems to require more from you than you feel able to give and some sort of backlash is normal.
I also wish to point out that I am a type 2 diabetic, diagnosed with this disease late in life and therefore my viewpoint will be that of an older person.
I cannot, from personal experience, comment on the emotions felt by either the child themselves or the parents of a type 1 diabetic child except as related to me second-hand.
I can only hope that something of what I say in the following pages will supply some form of assistance to anyone in need, or at least encourage them to get the help they need from someone better qualified.
The following sections do stand alone but it will be better if you read them in the order in which the links appear.
1. Life On The Roller-coaster.
2. The 5 Stages Of Grief.
3. Diabetic Burnout.