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I鈥檝e always been a pretty stressed and highly strung sort of person. When I was diagnosed with diabetes at 19 years old, my immediate reaction was to work super hard at getting it 鈥減erfect鈥� (classic overachiever!). I鈥檝e never been able to afford an insulin pump, so managing with injections has obviously NOT been 鈥減erfect鈥�. There are times when I get so frustrated because I鈥檓 doing everything 鈥渞ight鈥� but my BGLs aren鈥檛 reflecting that. I鈥檝e really had to let go of the idea of managing it perfectly, and focus on celebrating small wins 鈥� like an entire night within my target range!

When I got pregnant last year. I was working with the Diabetes in Pregnancy care team at Monash Health to get my diabetes management extremely tight to create a good environment for my baby to develop in. It. Was. So. Bloody. Hard. I鈥檇 be waking up every few hours overnight to take insulin or eat something to get me back in that 鈥減erfect鈥� range. Now that my baby is 6 months old I鈥檓 still waking every few hours overnight (because he wakes me up!) and my blood glucose levels are always in the back of my mind too, so I have to check them lots.

I鈥檝e been to see lots of psychologists over my life to deal with my stress and anxiety, and diabetes definitely always adds an extra element to my mental health struggles. It鈥檚 not like I see a psychologist specifically to discuss diabetes, but diabetes on top of the other stresses in life often tips me over the edge so I need to get some help. Anxiety is like a snowball 鈥� it builds up and builds up, and diabetes in that mix makes it escalate pretty quickly.

I actually recently saw a psychologist again to deal with some postpartum anxiety and depression. I think that mental health challenges sort of come and go throughout your life and you have to work at it.

My advice to others managing diabetes and feeling stressed, anxious or depressed is:

1. Be kind to yourself 鈥� learn to forgive yourself when your blood glucose levels aren’t perfect, and learn to take a step back and have a break when you鈥檙e overwhelmed.
2. Talk to someone 鈥� if you know someone else living with diabetes, support each other! I have a great friend who messages me when she鈥檚 having a hard time, and I do the same to her. We send each other CGM screenshots and have a good vent about why it鈥檚 being crazy. If you don鈥檛 know someone else who can sympathise with you, a psychologist can help you.
3. Look for encouragement 鈥� I can鈥檛 tell you how important it is to hear something as simple as, 鈥測ou鈥檙e doing great!鈥�. Find a good endo who will encourage you rather than make you feel like you鈥檙e never meeting your targets. Find a support group who can encourage you too. (Massive shout-out to the Facebook group Type 1 Diabetes and Pregnancy 鈥� Bump, Baby and Beyond (Australian women) 鈥� I couldn鈥檛 have survived my pregnancy without these amazing and supportive women!)
4. Don鈥檛 go it alone 鈥� having to live with diabetes is unfair. It can make you feel really crap. Don鈥檛 try and manage it all on your own. Be brave and seek support for the mental health side of things 鈥� especially if you have a family and there are other people relying on you to be feeling good.