Dealing with Reactions

Dealing with Denial

Talk to supportive family members and friends about diabetes. Encourage your child to do the same (but don't push her). Learn as much about diabetes as you can, and teach your child about diabetes. If she avoids or refuses to help in her diabetes care, help her choose a few attainable goals to work toward (like checking her sugar once a day or pushing the plunger down after you inject the needle).

Defusing Anger

Do something active, like running or bike-riding. Write your feelings in a journal or notebook. Take some deep breaths, count to 10, get a drink of water.

Dealing with Depression, Fear, or Anxiety

Talk to a friend or family member about your feelings. Write down your thoughts and feelings. Take a walk or do some other kind of exercise. Do something that you or your child likes to do -- watching a favorite movie, going to the mall, talking to friends. Try to take the focus off of diabetes -- even if you can only manage it for a few hours at first.

Getting Rid of Guilt

Remember that no one knows why certain people get diabetes. Nothing you or anyone did could have caused diabetes. Reassure your child (and yourself) that no one "deserves" diabetes, and no one is at fault.

Encourage your child to talk to you about her feelings. Be angry at diabetes together -- then turn that energy toward something constructive, like learning how to "beat" diabetes by keeping blood glucose in control, or advocating for more diabetes research. Support groups for parents and children/teens with diabetes can be a great help for both you and your child. It's great to talk about diabetes with people who have been there.

Depression

Feelings of sadness and loss are a normal reaction to the diagnosis of diabetes. Some people, both adults and children, can become "stuck" in depression. Signs of depression include:

• Not caring about things you used to like to do
• Having trouble sleeping or sleeping too much
• Eating a lot more or less than usual
• Losing or gaining a lot of weight without trying
• Having trouble concentrating
• Fatigue, nervousness, or anxiety
• Frequent crying
• Feeling worse in the morning than during the rest of the day
• Thinking about dying or ways to hurt yourself

If this sounds like your child (or you), get help immediately. A doctor can discover or rule out a physical reason for the depression. The doctor can also recommend that your child (and/or the whole family) see a counselor, psychiatrist, or other mental health professional. Some people feel that getting help for depression or some other mental health issue is a sign of weakness or failure. It is not-sometimes it takes more courage to ask for help than it does to tough it out. A mental health professional may prescribe medication for depression, counsel your child, or both. Don't give up. Your child (and you) can feel better.