Diabetes and its challenges to mental health

Disclaimer: This content is not to be relied upon or intended to be medical or mental health advice. It is also not intended to be relied upon for medical or mental health diagnosis or treatment. Roche does not provide medical or mental health advice. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health professional with any questions you may have regarding your medical/mental health. Disregarding medical/mental health symptoms, medical/mental health advice previously obtained from a physician or other qualified health professional, or seeking medical/mental health advice based on this content. Don’t delay.

Depression, burnout, and eating disorders. These are just some of the mental health issues that often plague people with diabetes, no matter what type of diabetes they have or where they are on the diabetes journey¹. Almost one-third of people with diabetes have mental health problems, and ¹ half of these incidents go undetected. ³ Now is the time to listen and talk to these unheard voices.

The prevention of diabetes-related complications is at the heart of this year’s World Diabetes Day, organized by the International Diabetes Federation (IDF)*, under the overarching theme of ‘Access to Care’. Cardiovascular disease, vision loss, kidney failure, and lower extremity amputations are all well-known consequences of unchecked diabetes. However, as mental health is closely linked to successfully living with diabetes, Roche wants to draw attention to mental health risks as a potential complication.

As a first step to raising awareness, we’ve put together a quick guide to some of the more common mental health issues for people with diabetes. As you read through this glossary, you will notice that prejudice, prejudice, and isolation are at the heart of many of them. Good news? You can work on this!

Inspired by IDF’s commitment to educating the world about what it really means to have diabetes, making visible the invisible aspects of living with diabetes helps combat stigma and reduce the burden. We know it will help a lot to alleviate some of it.

The fight-or-flight response, hardwired into us to escape saber-toothed cats and other life-or-death situations, is highly susceptible to all kinds of stressors, including the stress caused by years of tedious daily diabetes management. It works the same way for There is a bitter irony here. The stress of living with diabetes and trying to control it every day can actually make it worse. Stress releases hormones that make blood sugar fluctuations more pronounced, making it more difficult to keep blood sugar levels within range. Repeated or ongoing diabetes afflictions can cause serious long-term damage.

Quarter with people with type 1 one fifth People with type 2 diabetes experience so much diabetes distress that it can negatively impact how they manage their diabetes.

Symptoms of burnout vary from person to person, but generally it can be described as a feeling of hopelessness that ultimately leads to “giving up”. When you feel like there’s no point in trying hard to overcome your diabetes, you may skip doses of insulin, refuse to take pills, avoid medical checkups, or take care of your daily care, even if it’s a pain. You end up ignoring essential elements. Diabetes burnout often develops after dealing with the pain of diabetes for an extended period of time.

Based on recent research in Australia, 80% A higher percentage of people with diabetes report feeling judged, blamed, shamed, or treated differently because of their diabetes.

A common misconception about diabetes is that people bring on diabetes by consistently making bad choices. Although a variety of factors such as genetics, socio-economics, and environment all play a role; – Even air pollution – The fact that this concept is outrageous does not prevent people with diabetes from hearing, seeing, and feeling rejection, blame, and discrimination every day.Because this is Stigma forces people to hide the reality of living with diabetes To avoid surveillance, many people postpone or ignore necessary diabetes management measures in public, putting their physical and mental health at risk.

The greater the bias a person perceives, the worse their blood sugar control will be.

It is also known in the medical community as “type 1 eating disorder” or “ED-DMT1” (eating disorder-type 1 diabetes). The term was popularized in the media as a catchy combination of the words “diabetes” and “bulimia.” Primarily caused by type 1 diabetes, this complication refers to underuse or restriction of insulin with the aim of losing weight, but may also include other behaviors such as overeating and purging. Aside from trapping people in their minds to combat body image and weight obsession, Diablmia is extremely dangerous and can lead to indisputable physical damage and even death.

Literature shows that women with type 1 diabetes are twice as likely to live with an eating disorder, and patients with weight-related insulin restrictions are Die on average 13 years younger than those who did not restrict insulin.

Eating disorders caused by other types of diabetes Includes bulimia nervosa (bulimia and purging), restricted eating, and objective or subjective bulimia.

While bulimia is the most common eating disorder in women with type 1 diabetes, women with type 2 diabetes are more likely to experience bulimia.

Fluctuations in hormones and blood sugar can greatly impact a diabetic’s behavior, thought processes, mood, and emotions. It’s not always clear whether they became depressed. People who have been suffering from some or all of the following symptoms for about two weeks should seek help from a health care professional: restlessness, distractibility, suicidal thoughts, eating too much or too much, sleeping and getting out of bed. problems, feelings of worthlessness, and/or excessive anxiety.

According to research, people with diabetes twice the probability than the average person suffers from depression.

We can all contribute to preventing stress, anxiety, depression, burnout, or the complex relationship between food and insulin from going too far and causing long-term or irreversible side effects in people with diabetes. It starts with listening, learning and sharing.

Over the next few months – in time for the October 10th eventand on November 14th– Roche opens up a space for people to discuss these issues, address some of the stigma associated with diabetes, and educate people with and without diabetes. It’s OK if it’s not OK. We know how important early detection is to good outcomes, so we help people recognize they have a problem and reach out to their health care providers, diabetes community, and other resources to get the support they need. can be encouraged to do so.

Together, we will show the world that everyone can contribute to improving the physical and mental health of people with diabetes, no matter where they live.

*Disclaimer: Roche is a partner of the International Diabetes Federation and supports its advocacy and awareness efforts.

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