2. How do I manage my diabetes?

Diabetes is a serious lifelong condition which can be managed with a healthy diet, physical activity and medication.

How you manage your diabetes is very important. This section of the book gives you information on what you need to do to manage your diabetes and reduce the risk of the health problems diabetes can cause. Diabetes is a condition that you need to learn to manage for yourself. Healthcare professionals are here to help but cannot manage it for you on a day to day basis.

When you first find out that you have diabetes you may feel shocked, helpless or overwhelmed.  Some people are glad that it is nothing worse, others are scared about the impact diabetes may have on their life. Feeling like this is not unusual and as time goes on you will find ways to live life with diabetes. It is not unusual for people to feel depressed and anxious but there are many ways you can help yourself. If the emotions you experience last more than a month have a chat with your GP. Your GP may:

• Refer you for extra support such as counselling and/or
• Prescribe medication

Learning about your condition can help reduce your anxieties. If you don’t know what to do then ask for help, no question is “silly”. Understanding diabetes and talking to your family, friends and other people with the same condition can help you feel more confident about coping with your diabetes.

Your diabetes will not go away if you ignore it, but by controlling it and building the lifestyle changes into your daily routine, you can reduce your risk of health problems.