Having diabetes is scary, and for some people who are diagnosed with diabetes, that fear translates into anger.
How can you deal with your anger and keep it from affecting your treatment? Sometimes anger about diabetes turns into denial.
Anger at the way diabetes is changing your life shouldn't become your reason for avoiding the need to change it and control your diabetes.
It's a vicious circle that can result in your health becoming worse because your disease isn't treated the way it needs to be.
Some recently diagnosed patients find themselves in an "anger circle.
" They are angry at diabetes because it's changing their life.
They're afraid that their friends will give them special treatment or resent them.
They avoid changing their lives because they don't want diabetes to win.
And then the disease gets worse because it's going uncontrolled and blood sugar levels are staying high, so the patients feel worse and get more angry.
You don't have to stay stuck in this circle.
Take steps to turn your anger into something productive.
First, figure out what's making you angry.
How is your anger affecting your behavior? Who or what do you feel angry at each day? Keep track of this and look for patterns.
Next, try to calm your physical responses when you feel angry.
Do you talk fast or loud? Do you tense up? Try to talk softly and slowly, slow your breathing, sit down and relax.
Take charge of your anger in each situation so you can feel in control of your situation.
Make your anger work for you.
Assess the patterns you find in your anger and decide how it's helping you to cope in some situations.
Your anger can tell you what you haven't accepted and what you still need to work through.
It can help you to know what might be important to tell friends and family members.
Let anger be a signal to take action, not a signal to ignore the treatment you need.
Control your diabetes, but deal with the issues you might be having with it too.