Skip to main content

Diabetic Phobias and How to Manage Them

 People with diabetes can experience other types of diabetes-specific anxiety, including anxiety about hyperglycemia, a diabetes-related complication of needle injections etc. Extreme or overwhelming anxiety can be a problem if it affects your diabetes management. For parents, crippling anxiety can result in things like difficulty sleeping with children, discouraging marital relationships, staying up for hours that will affect their own health. Read more to understand different types of diabetes phobias and how to manage them with the expert help from Dasman Clinic, the best diabetes clinic in Kuwait





  • Needle Phobia

Insulin-dependent diabetics can have significant difficulties if they suffer from needle phobia. Needle phobia can develop into a fear that can get out of control and become aggressive and challenging. According to studies conducted, anxiety and fear of injection-related pain affect 30% to 50% of patients when they begin education and intervention about diabetes.

Relaxation practices such as holding a deep breath for a few seconds before administering the needle can be helpful to overcome the anxiety that can help you cope with a needle phobia.

  • Fear of Hypos

The fear of hypoglycemia is a normal response as it can help you keep alert to hypoglycemic symptoms, but extreme anxiety can be a problem if it affects your diabetes management. Fear of complications from elevated blood glucose levels is a risk factor for hypoglycemia. As we have seen today, your fear of this disease is an obstacle to better glycemic management.

Your healthcare team can take proactive measures with the awareness of hypoglycemia to help you overcome fear and anxiety by educating you regarding the better management of glycemic index.

  • Fear of Blood Test

The blood glucose test is an essential part of keeping type 2 diabetes at bay. If you skipped the test because you want to avoid needle pricking, you are not alone. The fear of having to test your blood sugar can limit the treatment of diabetes with insulin because you need to know how your blood sugar reacts to it. This means that you have to overcome this fear if you want to control your diabetes effectively. 


Let your medical team know about your phobia of a blood test before you start the procedure so that they can help you with breathing and relaxation techniques that can help you deal with it. 



Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Simple Steps to Preventing Diabetes

Diabetes has become more common in youth with the increasing rates of childhood obesity. If diabetes was a kind of infectious disease, the world would have been amidst a deadly pandemic. Lifestyle changes to lower your risk of diabetes Weight control Excess weight is a triggering factor of type 2 diabetes. People who are overweight are seven-folds more prone to developing type 2 diabetes.  If your weight is above the healthy-weight range, shedding weight can help you stay away from developing diabetes. Losing 7-10% of your existing weight can trim your chances of developing type 2 diabetes in half. Stay active Staying inactive provokes type 2 diabetes. Working your muscles enhances their capacity to use insulin and sponge up glucose. It reduces the stress on your insulin-making cells. So make sure you stay active and help your insulin-making cells relieve stress. Turn off television  Television-watching seems to be a bad form of inactivity. According to studies conducted, ever...

What are the Risk Factors for Type 2 Diabetes?

  Knowledge of risk factors helps people identify and manage diabetes before it causes problems. A complex range of genetic and environmental factors can increase the risk of diabetes. Some risk factors, such as age, genetics and ethnicity, do not change much apart from weight, but lifestyle factors can change significantly. Certain diseases can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes. Read further to know what are the risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Obesity Being overweight increases the risk of insulin resistance because fat impairs the body's ability to use insulin effectively. Researchers are not sure why weight increases the risk of diabetes, but some suggest that extra weight makes the body more sensitive to insulin and thus less effective. Losing weight and changing your diet can help lower blood pressure and cholesterol levels, which reduce the risk of developing Type 2 diabetes.  High Blood Pressure & Cholesterol If you have high blood pressure or choles...

Vegan Diet For Diabetes Patients

  Abandoning animal products and switching to a diet rich in wholesome, minimally processed plant foods can reduce the problems of Type 1 diabetes. There is no cure for type 1, but the right diet can have many benefits. Researches by the diabetes doctor in Kuwait , Dasman Clinic Salmiya shows that switching to a plant-based whole-food diet (WFPB) can reduce the symptoms of type 1 diabetes and help with managing or reverse type 2 diabetes (pre-diabetes). How to switch to a vegan diet? The best way to adopt a vegan diet if you have diabetes is to ensure that meals and snacks contain a healthy balance of plant proteins, carbohydrates and fats. General advice on healthy eating - choose whole grains and low GI carbohydrates over refined choices, eat less salt, saturated fat and sugar - applies to people who have a vegan diet.  Benefits of the vegan diet Potential benefits: Potential research-based benefits of a vegan diet in diabetes include better blood sugar control, insulin sen...