Thank God the Holidays Are Over: Coping With Diabetes
Thank God the Holidays Are Over: Coping With Diabetes
For 35 million Americans with diabetes, holiday gatherings are more stressful.
Eating and drinking
are an important part of holiday festivities. For the 35 million
Americans who have Diabetes and the millions more who are pre-Diabetic
holiday gatherings can be fraught with stress.
How do you enjoy the holidays and still manage your illness? Diabetes
presents a challenge to the enjoyment of the holiday season. Holiday
festivities are often filled with eating and drinking. Many traditional
holiday meals are high in carbohydrates and sugar.
For elders who are attempting to maintain their diabetes, these meals can present a significant threat to their self-control and health. Maintaining control over diet while participating in holiday festivities can be difficult. Avoiding social gathering is not a solution. Such avoidance can lead to feelings of isolation and depression.
An important first step is to raise awareness of the devastating impact of diabetes. Awareness can increase sensitivity to the needs of the millions of elders who are struggling to control their illness.
More than 200 million people in the world have been diagnosed with diabetes (National Diabetes Education Program [NDEP], 2014). In the coming years this number is expected to increase to over 300 million. This will includes more than 35 million people in the United States (Global Diabetes Research Centre [GDRC], 2015). The risk of developing diabetes in the United States is 3 to 1. While these numbers are shocking, the psychological, social, and economic consequences are even more devastating.
One’s culture, ethnicity, and social class also have a significant bearing on diabetes diagnosis and management. Diabetes rates vary. In the United States diabetes rates for non-Hispanic whites are 7.6 percent, for Hispanics 12.8 percent, and for African Americans 13.2 percent. Fifty percent of African American men and women will develop diabetes in their lifetime (National Diabetes Education Program [NDEP], 2014). One’s diet is often associated with a number of interrelated factors including education level, stress, economic factors, and overall lifestyle. Type 2 diabetes increases with age. One out of every 4 individuals over the age of 65 is diagnosed with the disease; 2 out of 4 are pre-diabetic (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014). The stressors associated with managing an illness at any time depend, to a large extent, on the economic, social, instrumental, and community resources available to people. Given the increase in the population of older adults, the ever-expanding diabetes epidemic, and the human suffering and economic costs associated with this illness, identifying successful self-care and illness management strategies are of crucial importance at this time. Contextual factors such as holiday gatherings can represent a threat to managing illness. Cultural customs, holiday patterns, traditional foods are often not the best options for those struggling to manage diabetes.
Feelings of control are important for management of diabetes. A sense of control is associated with feelings of effectiveness and competence. In fact, control is seen as an important factor that influencing overall well-being in later adulthood. Feelings of control also effect adjustment to illness. A sense of control is related to perceived susceptibility to illness, perceived seriousness of health concerns, and perceived benefits of certain actions such as treatments or preventative behaviors. A sense of control can influence subjective health by providing a person with protective attributional processes while they are coping with their illness. A sense of control is not possible without the support of others. An informational piece in webmd.com states that it takes a village to successfully manage Type 2 diabetes webmd.com/diabetes
It is possible to manage type 2 diabetes, to even reverse the disease, through exercise, diet, and weight loss. Feelings of control, a sense of resiliency, and social support are needed to undertake these challenges. It is important not to deprive oneself over the holidays. It is important to take part in festivities, not to isolate oneself for fear of losing control, but to know your limits, to anticipate the challenges of a party, perhaps to bring a dish that you know you can eat so you can partake, to eat mindfully. webmd.com/diabetes. When the holidays are over, it is also important to get back on a healthy routine and not focus on regrets over having indulged....
For elders who are attempting to maintain their diabetes, these meals can present a significant threat to their self-control and health. Maintaining control over diet while participating in holiday festivities can be difficult. Avoiding social gathering is not a solution. Such avoidance can lead to feelings of isolation and depression.
An important first step is to raise awareness of the devastating impact of diabetes. Awareness can increase sensitivity to the needs of the millions of elders who are struggling to control their illness.
More than 200 million people in the world have been diagnosed with diabetes (National Diabetes Education Program [NDEP], 2014). In the coming years this number is expected to increase to over 300 million. This will includes more than 35 million people in the United States (Global Diabetes Research Centre [GDRC], 2015). The risk of developing diabetes in the United States is 3 to 1. While these numbers are shocking, the psychological, social, and economic consequences are even more devastating.
One’s culture, ethnicity, and social class also have a significant bearing on diabetes diagnosis and management. Diabetes rates vary. In the United States diabetes rates for non-Hispanic whites are 7.6 percent, for Hispanics 12.8 percent, and for African Americans 13.2 percent. Fifty percent of African American men and women will develop diabetes in their lifetime (National Diabetes Education Program [NDEP], 2014). One’s diet is often associated with a number of interrelated factors including education level, stress, economic factors, and overall lifestyle. Type 2 diabetes increases with age. One out of every 4 individuals over the age of 65 is diagnosed with the disease; 2 out of 4 are pre-diabetic (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2014). The stressors associated with managing an illness at any time depend, to a large extent, on the economic, social, instrumental, and community resources available to people. Given the increase in the population of older adults, the ever-expanding diabetes epidemic, and the human suffering and economic costs associated with this illness, identifying successful self-care and illness management strategies are of crucial importance at this time. Contextual factors such as holiday gatherings can represent a threat to managing illness. Cultural customs, holiday patterns, traditional foods are often not the best options for those struggling to manage diabetes.
Feelings of control are important for management of diabetes. A sense of control is associated with feelings of effectiveness and competence. In fact, control is seen as an important factor that influencing overall well-being in later adulthood. Feelings of control also effect adjustment to illness. A sense of control is related to perceived susceptibility to illness, perceived seriousness of health concerns, and perceived benefits of certain actions such as treatments or preventative behaviors. A sense of control can influence subjective health by providing a person with protective attributional processes while they are coping with their illness. A sense of control is not possible without the support of others. An informational piece in webmd.com states that it takes a village to successfully manage Type 2 diabetes webmd.com/diabetes
It is possible to manage type 2 diabetes, to even reverse the disease, through exercise, diet, and weight loss. Feelings of control, a sense of resiliency, and social support are needed to undertake these challenges. It is important not to deprive oneself over the holidays. It is important to take part in festivities, not to isolate oneself for fear of losing control, but to know your limits, to anticipate the challenges of a party, perhaps to bring a dish that you know you can eat so you can partake, to eat mindfully. webmd.com/diabetes. When the holidays are over, it is also important to get back on a healthy routine and not focus on regrets over having indulged....
