Diabetes and Mental Health
Dr. DawnElise Snipes
AllCEUs Affordable Continuing Education. YouTube Influencer 500,000+ subscribers
Diabetes and Mental Health
Diabetes affects people multidimensionally (PACER) and may begin 10 years before the diagnosis and complications may start 5 years before the person was diagnosed.
More than that, by the time they’re diagnosed, 50% of people with type 2 diabetes already show signs of complications.
Depression may increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes 60% and is approximately 200% higher in people with diabetes than in the general population.
There are many risk factors of diabetes, such as: depression, anxiety, grief, cardiovascular disease, stroke, neuropathy (which contributes to slow wound healing, lack of awareness of wounds, erectile dysfunction and chronic pain), limb amputation, retinal damage, dementia (as a result of vascular damage), eating disorders, reduced life expectancy etc.
In my latest video, the one on Diabetes and Mental Health, I've identified the connection between C-PTSD, PTSD and diabetes and have talked about the fact that doctors are now being encouraged, when evaluating people for diabetes, to also evaluate the number of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) they had.
What is the function of the clinician / counselor / case manager / social worker ?
As clinicians, we are not going to do a lot of treatment planning for our clients with diabetes insofar as managing their blood sugar levels but we do have a considerable role in helping address depression, anxiety, grief, behavioral issues and in treatment compliance.
We may need to assist people who are struggling with diabetes but have not been diagnosed, who are in pre-contemplation or contemplation. Our clients may not know they have diabetes or they may not want to know and it's important for us to help them get motivated, to encourage them to go get tested.
We may need to assist people who have been recently diagnosed and are grieving, depressed or anxious about their diagnosis. Finding out that you've got diabetes can be a very stressful situation and can trigger grief, because you may realize that your illness is going to change your life. Our clients may be struggling with depression or anxiety, they may feel discouraged or anxious about their diagnosis, may assume that complications are inevitable and may avoid necessary self-care behaviors.
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They may get the diagnosis and may be shocked and think there's no hope. It's important to help them be aware of the facts in the situation and, if we are assisting people who have been diagnosed and are treatment non-compliant or are having difficulties managing their blood sugar or experiencing complications, help them be as treatment compliant as possible, help them change their routine, help them get motivated and supported in making a change to a new treatment plan or help them make their current treatment plan work.
We can assist with health education, educate them about the importance of early interventions.
We can also make referrals to dietitians, if they are having difficulty maintaining their eating habits or their blood sugar stable. We can make referrals to their doctors for testing, we can work with them to create plans, help them achieve their personal and physical treatment goals and help them realize that they can have diabetes and live a rich and meaningful life.
In the video, I have also added a list of diabetes symptoms to help clinicians in screening their clients for diabetes because, although we are not diagnosing, it's crucial to find out if our clients are at risk for developing diabetes and encourage them to connect with their medical provider and get assessed.
If you are interested in helping people cope with diabetes and want to learn more on diabetes and mental health, make sure not to miss this FREE video: https://DocSnipes.com/Diabetes
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