Being diagnosed and living with diabetes can affect people in very different ways. While some may find coping with diabetes has very little impact on day-to-day life, others may find that it has turned their lives upside down. Finding diabetes difficult to cope with does not mean that you are doing something wrong. Many people with diabetes who we speak to feel that at some point in their lives, their diabetes causes them to feel like they are not coping. Many feel alone.
The physical impact of diabetes is well reported but the emotional impact is still not always recognised. Diabetes can have an emotional impact, especially around diagnosis, starting insulin, and on developing complications. Many people find their own personal way to deal with these feelings, but for some they continue to struggle to come to terms with how their diabetes makes them feel. For some people with diabetes these feelings can develop into depression. Although people with diabetes have a higher chance of showing signs of depression, not all people with diabetes who are finding it challenging develop depression.
In developing this area of the website, Diabetes UK worked together with people who have diabetes, listening to the feelings and emotions they have experienced, how they cope, what effect it has on their everyday lives and where they go for help. Diabetes and depression are closely related and this section aims to help you understand and cope with them better.
Reviewed December 2009
Next review December 2010