Mental Health and Diabetes: Top Tips to Help Your Emotional Wellbeing

Diabetes does not just affect blood sugar levels. It has been shown to lead on to emotional worries too due to the constant pressures involved in managing the condition.

For some people, the stress of living with diabetes and concerns about potential complications can contribute to changes in mood and may lead to apprehension, anxiety and confusion.

Firstly, it is important to remember you are not alone.

If it ever feels like it is too much to handle, speak with friends, family, healthcare professionals or look for online forums. We find that Instagram has an amazing community of diabetics who will offer support and advice.

The good news is that there are lots of things that you can do to help your current emotional state. Here are our top tips: 

• Try as best as you can to keep a routine meal schedule. Adding consistency to your eating habits can help you to manage your blood sugar levels.

• Exercise regularly. Ok so you may have been expecting this one, but being physically active has been proven to improve mood, enhance blood sugar control and maintain a healthy weight. It is important to consider blood glucose levels when taking part in exercise, and to note that all exercise types will not have the same impact on blood glucose. We have written a guide on how different exercise types impact blood glucose levels here.

• Make small changes and small improvements consistently. Don’t expect everything to be perfect straight away when you’re trying to change something. Keep working on your aims and don’t give up.

• Complete a diabetes course. The more knowledge you have around your diabetes the more equipped you will be to have tighter control. Example courses in the UK are the DAFNE and/or BIANCA courses, which teach you about carb counting and the bodies response to food intake.

• Don’t be afraid to talk to somebody about any issues you may have. Awareness of mental health has increased significantly over the previous few years and the stigma is reducing on a monthly basis. If you don’t have anybody close to talk to, contact your healthcare professional who will be able to support.