Diabetes brings lots of changes in a patient’s life, no matter he or she likes it or not. The constant tension of treatment, maintenance of proper diet and exercising daily somehow pulls the patient away from his or her normal life, family and friends. However, diabetes may cause to to depression which affects the health negatively.
Therefore, having the family and friends support is a must requirement for a diabetic person. Both the patient and the family should understand this!
According to the researchers in Finland, the management and treatment of type 2 diabetic patients were much better in a family setting than the ones who stayed away from their loved ones. The complete report can be found in Journal of Family Nursing where the researchers have published their findings on how the family plays a crucial role in the treatment of a diabetic patient.
Family support is equally vital for both male and female diabetic patients. In Western Journal of Nursing Research, there are reports of several diabetic male patients who have stated ‘lack of family support’ as the main obstacle in their health improvement.
Why diabetic patients do not get family support?
- Once a person is diagnosed with diabetes, his or her lifestyle changes which somehow affect the people around him or her, which they don’t appreciate.
- There is a constant demand for support and help from the diabetic patient which the others find quite annoying since they have their own lives to deal with.
- Some people feel diabetes is the problem of the patient; therefore, they mustn’t take their disease seriously.
- Some claim they have their own life problems to deal with, so they don’t wish to waste time on a diseased person.
- Elderly diabetic patients aren’t able to do several things on their own and need support, which other family members find disturbing.
- Sometimes the diabetic patients tries to force or warn their family members to avoid the types of food that lead to his or her diabetic condition, which also isn’t welcomed by the family members.
Why do you need a constant family support during your diabetic condition?
- To have the knowledge that there is someone by your side all the time is enough to give someone mental peace.
- In case of emergency you won’t have to depend on strangers for help since your own family members to help you.
- Staying in a family environment will help the diabetic patient to remain calm and happy even though he or she is going through a tough phase of his/her life.
- Participating in family events and conversation will be a great distraction from the tensions and troubles of the treatment.
- Someone will be there to help you go for the appointments with the doctor and even support you during the medical treatment.
- Diabetes can run in the family, therefore, it’s a must to inform your family about the disease so that they can be prepared if they develop the disease in the future.
- You can also warn and guide your loved ones so that they reduce the consumption of such food items that may cause diabetes.
How to get your family on board in your diabetes management?
Often family members avoid the diabetic patient as they don’t realize or have the knowledge of how family support can help in the treatment of the disease. Therefore, the patient must not feel bad if they don’t get family support in the early stages of their diabetic phase. It’s normal for the family members to treat diabetes as any other normal fast-curing disease and not take it seriously. So, one needs to educate his or her family about the importance of family support in the treatment of diabetes.
The things you may do to get family support are:
- Inform them about how their support can help you in various positive ways.
- Educate them about the ways they can help you.
- Inform them about the various properties of the diabetes and how it runs through the family.
- If someone complains about your different diet and lifestyle, let him or her know why your diet and lifestyle is different.
- Try sharing information about your treatment and medications.
- Try engaging in more family events and conversations.
- Try doing physical activities such as hiking, biking, swimming etc. together since they are much fun in groups!
In addition to the various medical treatments, dieting and exercising, family and friend support is necessary to improve the health condition of a diabetic patient. It has already been proven by several studies and tests that a diabetic patient living in a family environment is able to improve much quicker than the ones who stay away from their loved ones. Moreover, since the diabetes is a disease which runs in the family, it’s also important to let the family members of a diabetic patient learn about the disease and the treatments involved in it. Getting the proper treatment in a family environment helps the patient stay happier and peaceful, minimising the chances of ‘hypertension’. Thus, quicker recovery can be achieved!