Being Ashamed of Having Diabetes

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Diabetes is no fun. A Diabetic has to pee annoyingly often, to take a blizzard of pills, to measure his or her blood glucose from drops of blood may be from pricked fingers, to refrain from eating some delicious foods, and to consult a variety of health practitioners about the effects of their Diabetes on assorted bodily organs. A diagnosis of Diabetes is in a way like taking up a new hobby, except that it’s a hobby that no person in his or her right mind would ever want.

On top of all that, some Diabetic folks develop a sense of shame about their condition. Those who work in offices usually can’t conceal their Diabetes from their coworkers. They have to eat little or none of the cake at office parties, to test their blood-glucose levels, and to give themselves insulin injections, often within plain sight of their coworkers in contemporary ‘open office’ setups.

In popular conventional wisdom, Diabetics are often perceived as having been responsible for developing their own illness condition. It’s believed by many people that

  • Diabetics got sick just because they allowed that to happen.
  • Diabetics don’t know how to eat well, or how to exercise properly.
  • People become Diabetics because they have failed to take proper care of their own health.
  • Diabetics are also prone to failure in work, in love relationships, and in other areas of Life.
  • Diabetics are lazy people.

The guilt, fear, and shame that Diabetics often feel because of these common opinions held by their associates can complicate and may worsen their mental states, thereby making it harder for them to follow good health practices and to simply enjoy their lives. They may even fall into situational depression. And, at the present time, treatment for Diabetes is limited to palliative — there is no recognized outright cure for the condition; a diagnosis of Diabetes implies a lifetime commitment to participation in this unwanted ‘hobby.’

Diabetics must, first of all, accept the obvious truth that they can’t control what other folks think of them. But, then, they must also resolve to control what they can control — how they think, act, and feel, given their Diabetes and the sometimes uncharitable opinions that the folks around them may have of it. Some suggested coping strategies:

Even folks who aren’t particularly overweight and have been living a healthy lifestyle can develop Diabetes, although their risk of doing so is reduced. Their risk is affected anyway by their age, their genetic inheritance, and their ethnicity. Still, it never hurts to work towards healthier body weight and to adopt a healthier lifestyle, even for people who are already Diabetic.

It helps to explicitly acknowledge feelings of fear, guilt, anxiety, anger, or embarrassment. Once these feelings have been fully and openly confronted, they can be dealt with more effectively. That’s not ‘giving in’ to Diabetes; rather, it’s a good first step towards moving on to handling the condition, so that Life can still become pretty good again.

Reaching out to family and friends, and talking with them about Diabetes and the Life strategies for dealing with it, can also be very beneficial and in any case, is preferable to uncommunicative isolation. Even non-Diabetic folks may find Diabetes websites or support meetings interesting and can be invited to share in these activities. Some of the better lifestyle choices urged there can also benefit non-Diabetics. And telling family and friends, straight out, what is helpful — Diabetes-friendly cooking and condiment choices, for instance; and what is not — nagging, criticizing, or attempting to exercise control, all of which cause bad feelings and perhaps diminished coping for the Diabetic.

Diabetics can try to keep their stress levels under control by pursuing active hobbies that they enjoy, such as walking, dancing, or gardening. They can seek to relax by deep breathing, by writing in a journal, by meditating, or by praying if they are religious. Hobbies and relaxation exercises can renew and restore their mental functioning so that they are better able to cope with their Diabetes and with other people’s reactions to it. They can seek out other Diabetics, perhaps even within Diabetic groups, to share burdens, anecdotes, coping strategies, and success stories. Healthcare professionals can help in finding and connecting with other Diabetics.

It’s quite understandable and normal that Diabetics may be angry at the unpleasant turn that their lives have taken, and dismayed that their family and friends seem not to understand what they’re going through. But they’ll be much better off if they can turn their anger and dismay around into increased positive energy, leading to actions that will actually help them to manage their Diabetes. They may find that a wise and congenial counselor can guide them well along this path.

One more good Diabetic coping strategy is to be taking CLE Holistic Health Naavudi capsules. Naavudi is a herbal health supplement that is both ancient and up-to-date. It’s a blend of the extracts of nine herbs that have been used for many centuries by traditional Indian, Chinese, and European healing practitioners, offered in the form of 550-milligram vegetarian capsules. Its quality, purity, and uniformity are very well controlled since CLE Holistic Health grows its own herbs organically on its own farm plots; and all harvesting, processing, and packaging is done by CLE employees. Some of Naavudi’s ingredients have been studied in medical clinical research, and have been found to be effective, and have been endorsed by doctors. Naavudi can help your body to properly metabolize sugars and to moderate wild swings of blood glucose. So, wouldn’t you like to try Naavudi? 

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