Living with Chronic Illness: Mental Health Matters - Essay Sample

During this time, I've learned how important mental health is when you have a chronic illness. This can relate in many different ways, including that not all chronic illnesses can be seen and are actually invisible illnesses, causing some distress. As I gather information on this topic, I would like to share an anonymous quote from a fellow type one diabetic from a support group online I am a part of, "Have you ever thought about how much insulin it might take to end it all? You would need enough to override the livers response, and I'm thinking ideally you'd want to go unconscious ASAP - not hang around in the horrid delirium of a hypo dream. And you wouldn't want to make a mistake and just give yourself long term damage. I often wonder, how much would be enough?” (Anonymous source, 2020). Mental health is critical to the life of human beings, and illnesses like diabetes may have many negative repercussions to the life of a human being, which are harmful. In this regard, we shall analyze them as well as the best approach to deal with the condition.

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Type 1 diabetes results in low production of insulin and thus makes the production of energy in the body hard. The insulin makes the production of energy possible by stimulating the cells in the pancreas (What is diabetes? 2017). There are many different types of diabetes, but specifically, we will be discussing Type 1 diabetes and the mental health concerns that come along with it. With Type 1 Diabetes, specifically, things can be challenging in life. The routine you must take on daily from not having it to having it can be life-altering and cause much stress on your life and also the ones around you. From day today I have to give insulin, whether that is using a vial and syringe, an insulin pen, or a pump, each time I decide I want to eat or drink something that has carbohydrates. This can wear a person down alone. But not only this, you have to check your

Blood sugar with finger pricks before each time as well. Sounds time-consuming? Watching what you eat, how much you sleep, the stress levels you have, and the exercise you endure all play a crucial part in the way out diabetes reacts to you. The challenge in patients who have this condition is the fact that cells that produce insulin are destroyed and thus lowers the immunity system. This type of diabetes is also called juvenile, which is familiar to young children, among other people in the population. The beta cells are wiped from the patient's body thus, and thus this causes some injury to the pancreas of an individual. In this case, people who suffer from this condition have low levels of insulin in their body, and thus it is difficult to enable glucose diffuse into the cells and thus produce energy. There are several causes of the condition, which include genetics and viruses, among others. The condition has no cure, and the treatment only focuses on the management of the disease. The condition is manageable through diet and healthy lifestyle mechanisms to avoid further complications from the condition.

Understanding this disease can be difficult in general, but to see where mental health can come into play can also be a struggle for some. Giving some thoughts on the disease will help start the journey to understand how life with Type 1 diabetes can hold battles. When someone is diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes, they face significant life challenges. They will be ill and feel drained from these obstacles and may become burned out on the disease itself, causing depression. Anxiety may arise when you are trying to keep yourself healthy while also trying to live a normal life as you once did before. Having a chronic condition can mean that you have a higher risk of these mental health issues, and as seen earlier, suicidal thoughts can be more present (National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases). Diabetes 1 has got some unique characteristics that it possesses. The patients have extreme thirst when they have this condition and experience extreme hunger, especially after eating a meal. The mouth of the patients is dry at most times. The person with this condition vomits as well as experiencing stomach upset most of the time. People who have this condition experience weight loss in a manner that cannot be explained. These patients experience several symptoms, and thus they require keen attention. In cases where the patients of type 1 diabetes are under emergency, the symptoms are unique. They include shaking and confusion as well as the loss of consciousness by the patient. Depression is an illness that makes people feel sad and affects the mental health of an individual. Depression may result in other diseases such as cancer and diabetes, among others. In this regard, the diabetes condition needs to be addressed in the best approach to ensure a healthy lifestyle.

Fortunately, there are so many support systems to help people in rough situations, and these support systems can be isolated from having a chronic illness compared to not having.

Biological factors have an effect on the condition, which affects the mental health of the affected person. Those who are affected by the condition have a reduced lifespan and are likely to miss work as a result of the disease. The condition affects the financial well-being of an individual because many resources are used in paying from the services (VonKorff M, Barlow W, 1995). Sometimes a physician may indicate anti-depressants for a patient that is depressed, but this is much harder to throw in when there is a person on medications for a chronic illness, in this case, Type 1 diabetes

and insulin. There may be reactions between the medications that can cause an adverse reaction. There are many benefits for treatment and control of the condition in a person with Type 1 diabetes. The condition can be addressed through other approaches apart from the medication one. This may include conducting of exercise because it affects the blood sugar levels in the body. Exercise helps to have balance insulin in the body and thus helps to control the condition. Exercise may not involve going to the field but conducting simple tasks around the compound, such as cleaning. After an activity, it is important to ensure that the sugar level is checked to have a view of how it affects you. This needs to be done before and after the activity to identify the effect before and after the activity. Patients with this condition require proper care to ensure that they control the condition and have a healthy life. The condition requires appropriate attention to ensure life is protected and that the people affected do not suffer much from the condition.

In conclusion there, the diabetes condition needs good attention and care to ensure that the person does not suffer much. There are various forms of depression that might affect people who have this condition and thus result in more harm. Depression affects one's ability to work and makes one be unproductive. The state needs to be controlled in the best manner possible to ensure individuals have a quality healthy life which will ensure they live a decent lifestyle.340677591821000

There are many different types of diabetes, but specifically, we will be discussing Type 1 diabetes and the mental health concerns that come along with it. With Type 1 Diabetes, specifically, things can be challenging in life. There is a need to ensure the condition is managed and thus ensure that people suffering are helped.

References

An anonymous source (2020). Diabetes support group: Fk type 1 for only people who have T1!!!!.

Health care costs of primary care patients with recognized depression. Simon GE, VonKorff M, Barlow W. Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1995 Oct; 52(10):850-6.

National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/ health/publications/chronic-illness-mental-health/index.shtml. NIH Publication No. 15- MH-8015

Sited from support group facebook.comWhat is diabetes? National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. https:// www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes. Accessed April 19, 2017.