Re: Have you ever had mental health issues related to diabet
I selected everything except diabetes distress and diabetes burnout because I didn't really know what they were.
I was diagnosed T1 when I was 11. I'm now 31. I have suffered from depression since I was 14, possibly longer but it wasn't diagnosed until I was 20. Since then I have officially been diagnosed with,among other things, clinical depression, anxiety, self-harm and an eating disorder.
I don't think my depression was caused by my diabetes but I firmly believe that the diabetes has a huge impact on my mental health and that my mental health has a huge impact on my diabetes. To my mind, it is silly to think the two things wouldn't influence each other. If you understand both conditions, poor mental health & diabetes, it's just common sense that they would affect each other.
I didn't receive treatment for my depression etc until I was 20. Since then I have been learning to manage both conditions as best I can but for me personally, it has been a struggle to find the motivation and energy and mind power to deal with my diabetes properly. My depression has had the effect of meaning I've spent years not caring about good control of sugar levels etc. Combined with an eating disorder (binge eating, starving, limited range of food, inability to prepare proper meals) the diabetes is of course greatly affected. We all know how horrible you feel when your sugars are high and that sugar levels effect your sleep... So feeling physically bad from high levels and sleep disturbance doesn't help with feeling depressed etc.
I have been overweight all that time and that also affects both my mental health and my diabetes. Hating yourself is all the more easy when you feel fat, ugly & disgusting. I should say I also have PCOS (polycystic ovarian syndrome) and have had to deal with losing my hair and having to wear a wig, excess body & facial hair, infertility etc etc.... So that has played a big part too.
When I was 28 I suffered a heart attack. All my doctors were shocked and they said it was extremely rare. They said the diabetes and also the years of mental health issues will have played a role in it but they couldn't say for sure why it happened. Since recovering from the heart attack I have taken a bit more control over my diabetes, learning about it and being more active in managing it. I've lost weight and feel more positive about it all.
I believe everyone with diabetes should have access to some sort of psychological support. I think a person's mental health and their diabetes is naturally closely associated. How could one NOT have an affect on the other? I also think far too many diabetics have their mental health issues ignored or dismissed when really, it's crucial to have a good attitude and ability to cope with diabetes if you're going to be able to manage the condition well. Diabetes is a chronic condition that impacts your entire life on an hour to hour basis so it's no surprise to me that you need to be strong to cope with it well.
It was my diabetes consultant that pushed for me to get access to therapy. He sees how both conditions are closely linked and he was the one who fought for me to get the help I needed / need. He's been fantastic but I know I'm lucky and so many diabetics have their mental health ignored because not enough HCPs see what to me, is an obvious link.
There you go... That's me!
