How I coped emotionally with diabetes in my family

Many people need to go through a period of emotional adjustment before they can accept their diabetes. Much skill, patience and understanding is needed from the health professional to help them through this process. Many diabetic people go through a pattern of emotional reactions which are similar to grief reactions. These include shock and disbelief, denial, anger, depression and withdrawal when they realise the diabetes will not go away, and mourning for the loss of a life-style that was comfortable, familiar, secure. They also feel the loss of indulging in things they once found pleasurable, and the loss of independence. Finally comes the stage of acceptance. The person's fears of developing long-term complications-going blind, having heart disease, developing gangrene and so on-need to be addressed fairly early on. Education about avoiding complications is important but may not be effective until the person has worked through feelings of fear and grief. To the health professional it may seem astonishing that the patient does not comply with the treatment and accept the good advice that is given, but these reactions can often be understood in the light of the emotional adjustments that are taking place. Knowledge alone is not enough. Although health professionals need to give patients information and advice, they also need to help them express their feelings and provide emotional support during the adjustment process.