Learning How to Deal With Diabetes

Do you remember when you or loved one was diagnosed with Diabetes? The news was probably quite a shock unless you were too young to understand. A major medical condition such as diabetes can be quite difficult to deal with but the following sections describe the normal stages of reacting to that diagnosis.
The Denial Stage: Despite all the evidence, you probably began by denying that you had diabetes. Eventually, since you needed to start to help yourself, you had to accept the diagnosis and begin to gather information to do so. Having diabetes isn't something that you should hide from anyone and it isn't something to be ashamed of. You'll find that you're far from alone in your situation when you're accepting and open about having diabetes.




The Anger Stage: You may become angry that you're saddled with this "terrible" diagnosis when you've passed the stage of denying that you or a loved one has diabetes. You'll quickly come to realize that you can't do anything to rid yourself of the disease and that diabetes isn't so terrible. You're not in a problem-solving mode as long as you're angry. Turn your anger into creative ways to manage your diabetes because it requires your focus and attention.
The Bargaining Stage: After experiencing reactions of anger, it oftentimes leads to a stage when you or your loved ones become more aware of the loss of immortality and bargain for more time. At this point, most people with diabetes start to be overwhelmed by the talk of complications, blood tests and insulin or pills even though they realize that they have plenty of life ahead of them. Depression is quite a common occurrence which makes good diabetic care all the more difficult. You may feel that your diabetic situation creates problems for you that justify being depressed but they are all surmountable.




Moving On - The final Stage: You may need to consider therapy or antidepressant drugs if you can't overcome the depression brought on by your diabetic concerns. But you more than likely won't reach that point. You might experience the different stages of reacting to your diabetes in a different order than was described. Some stages may be hardly noticeable and others may be more prominent. Don't feel that depression, denial or anger is wrong. These are natural coping mechanisms that serve a purpose for a brief time. Allow yourself to have them - and then drop them and move on and learn to live a happy life with you diabetes.