04 - Feelings About Having Diabetes
4. Feelings About Having Diabetes
Living with diabetes isn’t easy. It’s normal to feel troubled about it. Tell your health care team how you feel. Point out any problems you have with your diabetes care plan. Your diabetes educator or other health care provider may be able to help you think of ways to deal with these problems.
Ask your family to help you manage your diabetes.
Talk about the stresses you feel at home, school, and work. How do you cope with these pressures? If your feelings are getting in the way of taking care of yourself, you need to ask for help.
Support Groups top
It helps to talk with other people who have problems like your own. You may want to think about joining a diabetes support group. In support groups, people who have just found out they have diabetes can learn from people who have lived with it for a long time. People can talk about and share how they deal with their diabetes. They can also talk about how they take care of their health, how they prepare food, and how they get physical activity. Family members who do not have diabetes may want to join a support group, too. 
It can help to talk with other people who have problems like your own.
Ask your health care team about support groups for people with diabetes and their families and friends. If there is not a support group in your area, you may want to call a diabetes organization (see the list on pages 127–129) about starting a group.
Counseling topOne-on-one and family counseling sessions may also help. Be sure to see a counselor who knows about diabetes and its care. Ask your health care provider to help you find a counselor.
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