The Role of Fear in Your Life with Diabetes

Do you experience a lot of fear in your life? Do you go back and forth between everything is great and the world is coming to an end? Do you have a hard time finding middle ground with your fear? Well, I know a lot about that.

That's been my life story.

As I was growing up, I had a lot of fear. Because of that, I did a lot of things that didn't serve me very well. Like making impulsive decisions, jumping into things without thinking through what I was doing, or why I was doing it. 

I jumped into a marriage when I was young. I jumped out of it in a divorce five years later. I moved clear across the country, away from my family, friends and support system to a place where I knew nobody, which, let me tell you, scared the pants off me, but I did it.

Fear has played a role in a lot of the decisions I've made in my life, and it has taken a toll. It drains my energy, increases my anxiety and interrupts my sleep.

My fear shows up as anger. It took me a while to really understand why I was angry all the time. It wasn't because I was angry. It was because I was scared! It kept me ruminating over past experiences and decisions. Something I did impulsively. Something I did wrong. Constantly turning it over in my mind and feeling worse and worse.

I paid a high price to my self-confidence because of my negative thinking. Without a way to break the cycle, I started to see the world as a fearful place.

Next for me was catastrophic thinking. This is when something happens and I'm nervous about what else will happen. My mind can think up some pretty scary stuff and then convince me that it’s real and will happen. One thing leads to another and suddenly I'm living on the street, homeless!

When you found out you had diabetes, did fear get in the way of helping you manage your diabetes? Did the fear of complications from diabetes scare you into working toward good diabetes management or into a place of giving up? Think about how you might approach your fear in a way that can be motivating to you so you can get better control of your blood sugar.

I’ve worked hard to change my relationship with fear and I feel a lot better these days. Do I still have fear in my life? Absolutely. What I have learned to do, and this is an ongoing process, is turn my fear from an enemy to a friend. What will you do to turn your fear into a friend to support you in managing your diabetes?

Dr Elaine

Download my free 30 Day Guide to Manage or Reverse Type 2 Diabetes 

This information is for educational purposes only and is not intended to replace the medical advice of your doctor or healthcare provider. Please consult your healthcare provider for advice about a specific medical condition.

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