Diabetes & The Body

Anxiety And Diabetes: Stop Worrying And Start Living

Anybody who does a realistic assessment of the diabetes related literature would realize that not much has been written about diabetes in relation to anxiety. There could be a lot of literature relating to depression and stress but very little regarding anxiety. The textbook definition of anxiety is: The state of being anxious, distress of mind, uneasiness, apprehension and eagerness. Now that, it has been clearly defined for all, there should be any doubt as to whether one has the symptoms of the disease or not. The diabetes patients need to take more care.

Anxious About Everything

It has been observed by diabetes patients that the worry about the blood sugar levels adds to their general level of anxiety. This anxiety might be secondary to diabetes but is potentially just as debilitating. It doesn’t have to be mentioned that blood sugar control depends on a balance between insulin, food and exercise along with stress and hormone levels. Thus there is ample scope for worrying about every silly issue in daily life and its possible effect on blood sugar levels.

Many patients feel that diabetes is often a socially ostracized disease. Diabetic patients must learn how to inject themselves, at times in public inviting curious onlookers. If the patient decides not to reveal the fact that he is a diabetic, then he has to always worry about keeping the secret. If he tells the world, he must learn to live with naive and often ignorant expectations and the prying eyes and the judgments of those with little knowledge about the disease. From worrying about the sugar levels in relation to doctor’s prescriptions to dietician’s recommendations, a diabetic has quite a lot of things to be worried about. Thus it is important for the diabetic to understand this aspect and take things a bit easily.

There are hundreds of silly aspects of everyday life that a non-diabetic does not have to worry about. There is no denying basic fact that the patient must have necessary awareness about diabetes so that he/she doesn’t worry about silly issues.

Worrying about diabetic complications has deprives many a diabetic of the joy of the present. Many people needlessly worry about things that may never come to pass. Although, it is quite possible that complications might arise due to diabetes, worry in itself will not make any difference it. Even worse it can invite unpleasant complications.

It is not as if there is no way out of this vicious circle. There are a few, which are explained below:

Stop worrying and start living: Thinking about diabetes all through the night and losing sleep does absolutely nothing to alleviate the disease. Worrying does nothing constructive, it only leads to lose of mental peace.

Support: Talk to someone else who has diabetes. They know what you are talking about. (This is why I am writing this article!)

Note down your worries and look at it rationally rather than making a cloud of worries and hiding behind it.

Be Aware: The more you are aware of your body's reactions, the more comfortable you will feel. This can avoid misunderstanding about symptoms and worry about being in emergency situations.

Realize: Assertiveness and self-control does not come with any disease, more so in diabetes. These are qualities we need to inculcate in ourselves. One must realize that, disease is not one’s fault and there is no harm in getting help from others.