I was diagnosed with Type 1 before i was two years old. i lived most of my life with amazing numbers… and an A1c that pretty much stayed in the sevens and low eights.
i guess a couple of years ago i realized that i deal with a lot of ■■■■ that other people dont deal with and i freaked out. for a few years now my numbers have been out of control…with my highest A1C reaching 11.8!!!
i was also diagnosed with celiac disease about six years ago and just recently with dystimia and majpr depression… i go to a therapist and therapy just doesnt seem to do the trick…
what do you guys do when diabetes just really brings you down??
I went on anti depressant drugs for years and they helped bigtime, recently I went off of them and it has been hard for me as well. Exercise, movies, and reading a wonderful book helps.
Chronic illness and depression sometimes go together. I deal with it by exercising when I feel well enough, doing little things I enjoy when I don’t. It might be a quick walk in the evening or a browsing trip to the bookstore. Joining a support group may help. You may want to talk to your therapist or regular doctor about additional therapies that could help the depression.
I have a friend that has been diabetic longer than I and he has had health issues that were a lot more critical than mine. he has gotten thru them all, sometimes not as smoothly as he should have but I have the luxury of learning from both his mistakes and successes. Sometimes i get up and the 1st thing that pops into my mind is I wish I wasn’t diabetic, but the reality is that I am and I do what I must. Its OK to wish for a different existance but I accept my reality and dont dwell on my wishes not coming true. I play the lottery maybe once every two months, yes i wish to win, but I dont regret not winning every time I see the results. some day i might win but I don’t expect it. It is possible that if i continue to lose weight i might not have diabetes. While I do expect to lose more weight and achieve my target weight I dont expect to be diabetes free. if it happens then FANTASTIC!, but if it doesn’t it will still be good!.
Glad that you found us Lyla! You will find that there are many people in this community that “get” what you are going through!
Honestly? That’s what led me to this community. And others. I always thought of myself as an independent person, capable of handling anything on my own - in part because I’d dealt with T1 all my life without anyone who understood.
When I hit bottom, I found two communities that helped me in too many ways to even numerate. One was weight watchers, where although I am not in plus-sized clothing yet, I found that a new perspective on my eating habits could revitalize a tired old topic. My insulin needs were reduced, my A1c dropped, and my diet seemed simultaneously fresh and sustainable. The other, obviously, was here - where learning that I have dealt alone with things that we all deal with alone made the isolationism I practiced all those years seem like a ridiculous self-imposed prison. Now, I find myself actively involved in a community where even my failures can help someone else.
When I became a voice teacher, I became a better singer than I had been just singing. When people become parents and start focusing on their kids, sometimes they realize how they need to focus on themselves to be there for their children. When I found TuDiabetes and started answering questions for the newly diagnosed, I realized all the areas where I myself knew how to do better and how much was riding on it.
I wish you luck. Continue with therapy, but see if there are other ways to broaden your perspective on the more difficult aspects of your health. Volunteer? Maybe you could visit the newly diagnosed or join a monthly diabetes support group?