if you have diabetes, eating right, and exercising regularly may not be enough to control your blood sugar levels at times. Your emotions can also cause that unexpected spike in your glucose levels, even if you haven’t eaten anything. According to experts, a person’s mental health can have an impact on how well they can manage their illness. Furthermore, diabetes not only affects us physically but also emotionally. This is how our emotions can play a key role in managing diabetes. (Also read: World Diabetes Day 2022: Doctors on tips to stop having diabetes and achieve remission)
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When we feel anxious, fearful or even happy like getting a new job or passing an exam, it could result in the production of certain hormones like cortisol which could lead to increased blood sugar levels.
“When one is stressed, which may not necessarily be physical but also mental, the body tends to produce hormones such as cortisol. This can raise the level of glucose in the blood, regardless of whether the person has eaten or not. There may be a risk of developing type-2 diabetes due to emotional stress. Therefore, it becomes a major issue and one should talk to their consulting physician or therapist about how they feel,” says Dr. Kavita Prabhakar Pai, Consultant Endocrinology and Internal Medicine, Masina Hospital, Mumbai.
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Living with diabetes itself can affect a person’s mental health due to the many aspects of its management, and one may need the emotional support of others to better cope with the disease. So if you’re feeling stressed, low, depressed, or burned out, this could all be part of your diabetes heartbreak.
There is an intricate connection between diabetes and emotions. One can feel agitated when blood sugar levels are high, while low blood sugar levels can cause nervousness.
“Among diabetics, higher blood glucose or hyperglycemia has historically been associated with anger or sadness, whereas low blood sugar or hypoglycemia has been associated with nervousness.” People with diabetes may be vulnerable to mood disorders as a result of blood sugar fluctuations,” says Dr. Pai.
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Mental health problems are common in diabetics, and depression, anxiety, and eating disorders could be some of the common problems.
“People who have diabetes experience a high rate of mental health problems like depression and anxiety. Eating disorders are also one of these mental health problems that people with diabetes can face. One should make sure that all people with diabetes have access to treatment, which also includes psychological treatment, and in addition, there must be support to reduce psychological distress and help improve self-control,” says Dr. Pai.
How to manage mental health in diabetics
Talk to your doctor or therapist about how you feel. You may need help controlling your emotions.
To balance that, you may need to:
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– Exercise frequently. Decreases depression, anxiety and stress.
– Get enough sleep.
– Stop the blame game, try to stay positive in most situations.
– Reward yourself.
How to support someone with diabetes
– Know what diabetes is and how it is treated.
– Try to be non-judgmental and feel comfortable providing the kind of help they want, or at least address and listen to their complaints.
– Watch for symptoms of low blood sugar.
– Serve a variety of foods.
– Be a training partner.
– Offer mental and emotional support.
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