Diabetes Distress: 10 Ways to Cope When Managing Diabetes Feels Like Too Much

Living with diabetes means a steady stream of tasks: checking blood sugar often, choosing healthy food, staying active, remembering medicine, and making health decisions all day long. On top of that come worries — about low or high blood sugar, the cost of medicines, and complications.

When it all becomes too much, you may have diabetes distress: worry, frustration, anger and burnout that make it hard to keep up with what diabetes demands each day. The good news is that there are ways to cope and to ease the stress.

Look after your feelings

1. Notice how you feel. Almost everyone feels frustrated or stressed at times, and diabetes can add to it. Feelings that last more than a week or two may be a sign you need help to feel better.
2. Tell your health care team. Your doctor, nurse, diabetes educator, psychologist or social worker can help you work through your concerns — and may suggest other providers who can help.
3. Talk about other people’s reactions. Your care team can help you handle feeling judged for having diabetes. You should not feel you have to hide it.

Get practical help

4. Ask about help with costs. Pharmacists, other providers and community health centers may know of programs that help people get insulin, diabetes medicines and supplies such as test strips and syringes.
5. Talk with family and friends. Be honest about what you find hard; simply saying how you feel relieves some stress. If the people around you add to it, tell them how and when you need their help.
6. Let loved ones help. They can remind you about medicine, help check your blood sugar, be active and cook healthy meals with you, learn about diabetes and come to appointments — in whatever ways are useful to you.
7. Talk to other people with diabetes. They understand what you are going through, can share what works for them, and can make you feel less alone. Ask your providers about support groups, local or online.

Make the load lighter

8. Do one thing at a time. List the tasks you do each day to look after yourself, and work on them one by one.
9. Pace yourself. Goals don’t have to be met at once. If your goal is to walk 10 minutes, three times a day, every day of the week, you could start with twice a day, or every other day.
10. Make time for what you enjoy. Call a friend, play a game with your children or grandchildren, work on a fun project, or find activities nearby to share with a friend.

When to act

If you notice you are feeling frustrated, tired and unable to make decisions about your diabetes care, don’t wait. Tell your family, friends and health care providers — they can help you get the support you need.

Sources

Based on "10 Tips for Coping with Diabetes Distress," Centers for Disease Control and Prevention; a work of the United States government in the public domain.