Diabetes can have many effects on a person's mood

Diabetes is a condition that impacts the way a person's body uses sugar for energy. However, diabetes affects much more than blood sugar. It can impact nearly every body system and have an effect on a person's mood.

Diabetes can have many effects on a person's mood. For example, managing diabetes can be stressful. A person may be constantly worried about their blood sugar and whether it is too high or too low.

Adjustments to their diet and constantly checking their blood sugar can also add to a person's stress and enjoyment of life. As a result, they are more likely to experience feelings of anxiety 

When a person's blood sugar returns to more normal ranges, these symptoms often go away. In fact, changes in mood and mental status can be one of the first signs that someone's blood sugar levels are not where they should be.

According to Johns Hopkins Medicine, the mental symptoms associated with low blood sugar levels may include:

• feeling confused
• feeling anxious
• having difficulty making decisions

Symptoms that indicate a person may have high blood sugar levels include:

• difficulty thinking clearly and quickly
• feeling nervous
• feeling tired or having low energy

Having diabetes can also cause a mental health condition called diabetes distress. This condition shares some elements of depression, anxiety, and stress.

While a person may not have symptoms severe enough for a doctor to diagnose them with a more severe mental illness, these symptoms can affect the quality of life for a person with diabetes.

A genetic link between bipolar disorder and diabetes is suspected because common genetic factors between the two can cause a rare disorder called Wolfram syndrome. People with Wolfram syndrome develop diabetes and exhibit bipolarsymptoms

While you cannot get rid of stress completely, you can effectively learn how to manage it so that it doesn’t cause even more damage to your diabetes management efforts. If your stress seems to be surrounding the challenge of diabetes management, there are a few things you can do to help reduce this stress.

• Establish Clear Goals
• Keep Regularly Scheduled Appointments
• Set Reminders for Medication
• Ask for Help

Conclusion

If you notice that you are experiencing at least three of these symptoms or more, it may take time to reach out for help. Talk to your doctor or your diabetes care team about how you are feeling. When things get tough, you need to turn to your support system or trusted people in your life. One of the most important things you can do is to remember that you are not alone in your new life of diabetes. You can make the decision to either take control of your diabetes or let it control you.