Anxiety and Grief

By David Spero My phone client Roscoe was diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes three years ago. He's doing well, with an A1C of 5.9. "But I'm still scared," he told me. "And I'm still sad. Do these feelings ever go away?" I don't get that question very often. Not because people don't have those feelings, but because they're afraid to bring them up. I give Roscoe credit for being brave enough to ask, but what should I tell him? Let's face it: Even well-controlled diabetes brings loss (grief) and fear of loss (anxiety). We may lose our sense of ourselves as being healthy; as being people who never have to check blood sugar levels or take medicines; who are free to eat whatever we want, whenever we want it. If diabetes is not entirely controlled, we may lose energy and feel fatigued. We may have mild symptoms like blurry vision or numbness. Complications bring worse symptoms and losses, as many of our readers know too well. All these things hurt emotionally. They will make us sad sometimes and can easily push us into depression. Like all chronic conditions, diabetes also brings fears about the future. Fear of complications causes worry, which can raise blood sugar and blood pressure levels. Diabetes brings other anxieties, too. Will we have enough money, will we be able to keep our job? Will we still be attractive to others? Will we still be able to do the things that are important to us? People with diabetes, like almost every adult in the world, have other losses and fears that h...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - Category: Diabetes Authors: Source Type: blogs