When Diabetes Distress Is Ignored, It Can Turn into Burnout—Your Feelings Deserve Attention
What is Diabetes Distress
Living with diabetes is challenging. Managing diabetes requires a lot of hard work such as monitoring blood sugar, eating habits, exercising regularly, and taking medicines on time. Unfortunately, mental wellbeing is entirely neglected when physical health is prioritized. One may experience frustration, anger, guilt, sadness or worry as a result of managing diabetes. Occasionally one may be bothered by all of these feelings. It is normal and understandable to feel this way. Feeling pressured or agitated by the unending daily demands of living with diabetes is quite a common phenomenon.
However, at certain times these feeling can become more intense. One may suddenly feel tremendous emotional strain or discouraged by the burden of dealing with their diabetes. This feeling of being defeated or weighed down by diabetes care is called “diabetes distress”.
Understanding How Many People Experience Diabetes Distress
Diabetes distress is fairly common. This is no surprise as it is a normal response to the day-to-day difficulties of sustaining a demanding condition. Anyone can develop diabetes distress. Many individuals do so on a regular basis. Those who take insulin have a higher chance of getting it than those on oral medicine. According to a study one in five patients with type 2 diabetes experience significant levels of diabetic distress. For type 1 diabetes, the proportion is slightly higher i.e. one in four people.
Understanding the Difference Between Depression and Diabetes Distress
Diabetes distress is not the same as depression. It is important to distinguish that when people living with diabetes feel overwhelmed, defeated, or frustrated, the feelings are only due to the stress of caring for diabetes. They do not necessarily feel this way about other parts of their lives.
The Critical Need to Address Diabetes Distress
Help must be sought as soon as the emotions are identified. The first and most important step is to be proactive and communicate with the healthcare team. The medical professionals would provide assistance and coping mechanisms. Burnout is more likely to occur if the signs are not recognized, and it can be extremely dangerous. This indicates that the person may become weary, irritated, or stop taking adequate care of their health. Because burnout interferes with self-care, medication adherence, and blood sugar control, it increases the chances of serious complications. This could be dangerous since it might make their diabetes worse. Early detection of those emotions and receiving support can help avoid more serious issues.
Taking Care of Your Emotions Is Just as Important as Managing Your Blood Sugar- Watch the video to learn more
- Feeling angry about diabetes
- Feeling frustrated about the demands of managing it
- Feeling burned out
- Feeling overburdened
- Feeling frustrated that things are not predictable or controllable
- Feeling overloaded with information from diabetes devices (such as pumps, continuous glucose monitors, or meters)
- Worrying about not taking enough care of diabetes
- Worrying about having a low blood glucose episode
- Being disappointed by friends and family
- Feeling support offered by family and friends is not enough
Living with diabetes isn’t just about managing numbers—it’s about caring for your emotional health, too. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, or burned out by the daily demands of diabetes, you’re not alone. These feelings are common and are known as diabetes distress. Recognizing the symptoms is the first step. The next step? Reach out for support. Talking to a healthcare professional can make a world of difference.
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