Diagnosed With Diabetes: Your Feelings

Your story begins

So you've learned that you have diabetes. You may be surprised that you have new, powerful feelings about how diabetes could change your life.

Sometimes those emotions can slow a person down. They can make it tough to get going with good diabetes care.

There are ways to handle tough feelings, though.

Some people find hearing about other people's experiences helps them deal with their own feelings. And others find that writing or talking about their diagnosis is helpful.

Maybe you could find this helpful too. Or can you think of another way to get through these first emotions?

Whatever you try, dealing with emotions is a good first step to managing your diabetes.

Others' stories

In ways large and small, expressing difficult feelings can help people get off to a better start with managing their diabetes. Here are two people who tell their stories.

Colleen's story

"I had prediabetes, so I was getting in a walk every day. I'd lost some weight. I was excited to see progress.

But when my labs showed that I'd crossed the line to diabetes, it seemed that my efforts had been all for nothing. I took it pretty hard. I shared with a friend that I was feeling so down since my diagnosis, and she gave me a little pep talk.

I realized that I really was on the right track. I just needed to add on to what I was doing for my health. So I learned more about blood sugar, food, medicine, and exercise. As I write about it in my journal, I often think about how this diabetes is like so many things in life—there's always something new to work on. But I'm definitely getting better at it."

Jim's story

"I was swamped with work and school when I learned that my blood sugars were high. I had diabetes.

The news caught me off guard and I felt overwhelmed. I actually felt helpless. I told my doctor that I didn't have the time or energy to make a lot of changes.

So we talked about a first step to start treating my diabetes. Since then, I've slowly found that changing the way I eat helps with my blood sugar. There's still a lot for me to learn, but I'm feeling better. I feel like I'm in charge again."

Telling your story

One way you can start is by thinking through a few questions. You may be surprised by what comes up for you. If you'd like, write down what comes to mind.

My feelings about having diabetes

When I think about having diabetes, what sorts of feelings come up?




When in the past have I felt like this?




Looking back, how did I work through that time?




Where I want to go from here

What sorts of things do I really enjoy?




How does managing my diabetes help me do more of these things?




Where do I think I will go from here? What might be my next step?