When I first read this, I have some serious doubts about what WebMd was advising, but after rereading the article, there are some excellent points and some I may ignore.
When you live with a chronic illness like Type 2 diabetes, it can often be overwhelming at times. There are times when we feel that no one understands the stress that we feel from living 24/7 with diabetes. If this is prolonged, these feelings of anxiety, stress, and isolation can become a barricade to your goal of wellness.
While the last statement can be true for many people, there are alternatives not mentioned in the article that I feel need to be said. These may not work for all people with Type 2 diabetes, but if you make it a priority and part of your daily life, a positive attitude, positive thinking, and positive acting can get you past many of the feelings of anxiety, stress, and isolation. Just realizing that I must have that positive attitude about daily living has helped me get past these feelings many times. Even when I felt like I was going down the path to a depression, thinking positive and acting positive stopped it cold and I felt like moving on with life.
Another tip not mentioned is what I am doing now – writing this blog. This is therapeutic in and of itself. Then I also read other bloggers which can make me laugh, nod my head in agreement with, release my frustrations with them, and cry once in a while. Commenting on another persons blog can be helpful at times. More often you will be offering them support or encouragement, but this can feed back to you many times over.
Now back to the WebMD article. They state that whether your main support comes from your spouse, a close friend, your physician, or a diabetes support group, there are people who care and can help.
They do make some very accurate statements in the article about the need for doctors that give an accurate diagnosis and understands diabetes. This is important because Type 2 diabetes requires regular medical checkups and for this you need a doctor that will help educate you about diabetes, diabetes medications and will help you devise an effective treatment plan. Yes, there can also be ophthalmologists, pharmacists,, dietitians, and educators that can also be helpful, but unless you live in an area that has all of these available, you may need to depend on a doctors and pharmacist only.
Wisely, the article does suggest when possible to see an endocrinologist that specializes in diabetes, even for Type 2 diabetes. Another important statement is about seeing a therapist. This should be a therapist that is knowledgeable about diabetes and the types of problems people with diabetes encounter.
Yes, I know the resistance people have to therapists – they don't like this because they are all wrapped up in the myth that people that say this imply that the disease is “all in your head.” The fact that people with diabetes get depression and often suffer from stress, makes this even more important. Both can make diabetes more difficult to manage and by talking to a therapist can often help reduce stress and make depression more recognizable and easier to get past mild to moderate episodes of depression.
This can be a key for better diabetes management. The emotional toll that diabetes exerts on your everyday life with diabetes can be eased by talks with a therapist specializing in diabetes. Your better health is important.
Please take time to read the entire article here and take advantage of what it offers.
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