What is diabetes distress?

Living with a chronic health condition can be physically and mentally draining.

Reaching out for help before your distress becomes severe is important in staying safe and well.

Diabetes Australia describes diabetes distress as “the emotional burden of living with and managing diabetes”.¹

Around 1.3 million Australians live with diabetes, with type 2 diabetes being the most common.²

Managing diabetes can mean daily medication, blood glucose testing and constant monitoring of food intake and activity levels. Over weeks, months and years, the time and effort put into managing diabetes can take a toll.

“Living with diabetes is about much more than checking your blood sugar levels,” says Diabetes Educator and Bupa Telehealth Team Lead, Chris Eldridge.

“It requires ongoing decisions about food, medication, physical activity, measuring your sugar levels, extra appointments such as eye and teeth checks and the whole diabetes cycle of care. On top of a workload and family life, that can be exhausting for people.”

Over time people living with diabetes can get overwhelmed, or their body may simply not respond in the same way to the usual management, meaning they can feel unwell.

“When diabetes is not well managed, people can experience fatigue, energy level fluctuations and disrupted sleep, which can all cause extra stress,” says Chris.

“People who have been living with diabetes for some time may start to worry about long-term complications such as eye or kidney damage. The stress of that coupled with the stress of managing the day-to-day functionality of living with diabetes can lead to burnout.”

Even people who have lived with diabetes for many years and have their condition well managed can experience frustration if things change.

“As you age, your body can start to respond differently to diet, exercise and even medication,” says Chris. “What once worked well, now doesn’t and that can be very frustrating, especially if you’ve been living with the condition for a long time.”

Diabetes distress can be caused by:¹

• Feeling overwhelmed by the demands of living with diabetes
• Worry that you are not managing your diabetes well
• Fear of long-term health complications
• Frustration that you cannot predict or control your condition
• Guilt when you feel you aren’t managing your condition well.

Living with diabetes means making many decisions every day around how to best manage your condition. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed at times. But when feelings of worry, guilt or fear start to become constant it can be a sign of diabetes burnout or distress.³

“Becoming complacent about your diabetes management can also be a sign that you could be struggling,” says Chris.

“People can become disengaged in managing their condition. Sometimes it can be caused by frustration when their blood glucose levels aren't aligning or they’re on a new medication, but their blood sugar levels aren't coming down. It can lead to a ‘what's the point?’ rut. Or they might feel like a failure or feel guilty because their body isn't responding the way they hoped.”

If you’re skipping important medical appointments or have constant low mood or worry, you may be experiencing diabetes distress.

While they can share some similar symptoms, such as fatigue and constant low mood, depression and diabetes distress are not the same thing.

Depression is a diagnosed mental health condition. Diabetes distress is a response to the daily stress of managing your diabetes.⁴

However, if left untreated, diabetes distress, which impacts one in four people with type 1 diabetes and one in 5 people with type 2, can lead to depression.⁵

If you are experiencing diabetes distress it’s important to get support from your GP or healthcare team.

One of the key factors in preventing diabetes distress or coping with it if you’re affected is having a robust support team that can help you manage your diabetes cycle of care each year. That means keeping track of how your body is responding to medication and lifestyle factors, as well as scheduling essential health check-ups and appointments.

“For people in remote or rural areas or for those who are simply very busy, frequent medical appointments can be tricky. Booking as many of your face-to-face annual checks or tests on one day can help. Telehealth can also be useful when you don’t need to be there in person,” says Chris. “Test results, physiotherapy for improved exercise, dietitian appointments and check-ins with your GP might all be possible via telehealth from the comfort of your own home.

“The truth is that you don’t have to manage your diabetes alone. Your GP and other health professionals can help.”

If you need extra support, talk to your GP today and discuss how to better manage your diabetes.