By Mike Stevens
There is a strong link between Type I diabetes and depression, as there is between many health conditions and related mood disorders. As such it is important to learn how to cope with the feelings.
Diabetes depression tends to be related strictly to the disease. The management of type I diabetes and depression can seem overwhelming at times. Dealing with frequent insulin injections, careful monitoring of your diet and the possibility of complications can lead to stress and depression. These odds increase if you have already suffered a complication such as blindness or nerve damage.
Depression is mainly about feeling hopeless and those with type I diabetes and depression feel horribly helpless. You might feel that you have lost control of your life and your body to this disease and when hopelessness sets in, so does the depression. Side effects of some medicines used to treat diabetes can also be the cause of depression, as can changes in your blood sugar. High blood sugar can keep you awake at night, resulting in more fatigue during the day, while low blood sugar can result in overeating. Bouncing between the two extremes is a common cause of diabetes depression.
Other typical causes of diabetes depression is tension between the patient and the doctor. When you disagree with your doctor about methods of treatment, this causes stress that can lead to depression. And if you are already depressed, you may not even want to see your doctor.
Realizing when you are depressed is the first step to treating it and feeling better. The symptoms of depression include tiredness, irritability, a continuing sense of sadness, loss of interest in activities that you once enjoyed, changes in sleeping and eating patterns and a general withdrawal from the outside world. If you have more than three of these symptoms, or if you suffer from two or more for longer than a couple of weeks, you should speak to your doctor about the possibility of depression.
Type I diabetes and depression can be a nasty pair. Diabetes itself requires a strict regimen of diet and medications and adding antidepressants to the mix is a recipe for disaster, although it may be the only way to function for some people. Antidepressants should be carefully evaluated by your doctor to make sure they won't aversely affect your blood sugar levels or react badly with medications that you are already taking.
You might prefer to stick with natural treatments for the depression side of the dual type I diabetes and depression issue. They are less likely to react with the existing drugs (but check with your doctor before taking them), and cause far fewer if any, side effects. Herbs such as hops and ginkgo balboa are useful in the treatment of depression, among others. A vitamin supplement is often helpful as well, to maintain the balance of vitamins and minerals in your body. A vitamin deficiency can contribute to diabetes depression, too.
Therapy is yet another option that may be used alone or in combination with antidepressants. It is a good option if you are already on several medications and worry about the risk of adding more to the cocktail. By seeing a therapist and learning to deal with the underlying emotional issues, you can avoid medication.
If you have diabetes you are at a higher risk for depression than the average person, but you do have options. Whether you choose antidepressants, therapy, supplements or a combination of these, do realize that both type I diabetes and depression are treatable.
Mike Stevens has been studying the mood disorders for years, and has written many articles on the subject. He is a regular contributor to the Diabetes Depression section of http://www.beat-your-depression.com, a site discussing conventional and alternative ways to treat depression and related mood disorders.
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