A few months back I started working for the NHS on a training program as a step towards becoming a male nurse, my aspiration since I was admitted to hospital in 2010 with ketosis and a new found diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes. Since beginning my new career, I’ve had four 12.5 hour shifts per week on a ward...which began my diabetic blip; I was consistently overtired, my family, friends and partner had to deal with my never ending mood swings, I had a persistent common cold and an insatiable reliance on caffeine.
So, I took a visit to my doctor and walked out the surgery with a sick note writing me off work for a week due to my poor physical health. After three consecutive days of being off work, I decided enough was enough and I handed in my immediate notice.
What followed was an overwhelming feeling of self disappointment. I’d let go of an aspiration I held for nearly a decade, and each day I worried about what I was going to do for a living instead. My mental health soon deteriorated and as soon as I became aware of this onset of depression, seemingly overnight, I found myself ignoring the chronic health condition I have lived with for a very long time now, skipping readings and injections (which is very VERY out of character for me).
I spent a few days in bed doing nothing, a few days walking circles around my flat crying and a few days staring at my diabetes injection pens and wishing for the diabetes to float away.
The following week of my tantrum, I again decided enough was enough (this time, with the help of my partner) and applied for a new job with set hours, changed from the hospital I was diagnosed at to one that is a 10 minute drive and started to test my blood a healthy amount of times again. I was offered the job, offered a pump, offered a CGM and my mental health is back on track like nothing happened.
TLDR: Had a long term diabetes blip, had a diabetic meltdown, experienced a bout of 7-day depression, left my job, started a new job, accepted diabetes again and now things are better than ever.
This is my first post but I wanted to share this. Has anyone else experienced anything similar?
So, I took a visit to my doctor and walked out the surgery with a sick note writing me off work for a week due to my poor physical health. After three consecutive days of being off work, I decided enough was enough and I handed in my immediate notice.
What followed was an overwhelming feeling of self disappointment. I’d let go of an aspiration I held for nearly a decade, and each day I worried about what I was going to do for a living instead. My mental health soon deteriorated and as soon as I became aware of this onset of depression, seemingly overnight, I found myself ignoring the chronic health condition I have lived with for a very long time now, skipping readings and injections (which is very VERY out of character for me).
I spent a few days in bed doing nothing, a few days walking circles around my flat crying and a few days staring at my diabetes injection pens and wishing for the diabetes to float away.
The following week of my tantrum, I again decided enough was enough (this time, with the help of my partner) and applied for a new job with set hours, changed from the hospital I was diagnosed at to one that is a 10 minute drive and started to test my blood a healthy amount of times again. I was offered the job, offered a pump, offered a CGM and my mental health is back on track like nothing happened.
TLDR: Had a long term diabetes blip, had a diabetic meltdown, experienced a bout of 7-day depression, left my job, started a new job, accepted diabetes again and now things are better than ever.
This is my first post but I wanted to share this. Has anyone else experienced anything similar?
