How can support groups help manage diabetes better?

Support groups help in the management of diabetes

When a person is diagnosed with diabetes, he or she usually experiences a lot of anxiety as it is considered as a life-long illness. For an effective management of diabetes, only medicine is not the solution. One also needs to adopt several lifestyle changes to limit the damage caused by diabetes. Often, these cause a lot of stress for the patient, which leads to deviation from the suggested medical advice.

Another cause of anxiety for a diabetic may be that even after following all the doctor’s advice strictly,  the desired outcome is not achieved. This is very frustrating for a person. Sometimes you just need to talk to someone who understands your concerns or even share the similar sentiments. This is where support groups help.

Support group offers the support you need

A support group is a group of people facing similar issues, varying from illness to relationship problems or major life changes. Members of such support groups often share their own experiences and advice with others.

It helps to boost your morale as being a part of a diabetic’s support group allows you to talk with other people who are in the same situation. While not everyone wants or needs support beyond family and friends but sometimes it is helpful to turn outside your immediate circle and communicate with people who are going through similar problems.

There is no set format of a support group. They may operate offline with a group of people who meet at regular intervals, or online with the help of internet. They may be led by professional facilitators — such as a nurses, social workers or doctors — or even by individual group members.

A few of the established benefits of support groups include:

• Being a part of support group, person feels less lonely, isolated or judged. This helps to reduce the stress levels, thus reducing the blood sugar level
• It empowers you to take control of your life
• It improves your coping skills and sense of adjustment
• It provides a platform for you to talk openly and honestly about your feelings
• Being part of such a group allows you to develop a clearer understanding of what to expect with your situation and easy remedies for common problems
• One can also get practical advice or information about treatment options
• At times one cannot address all his/her concerns with their doctor. But, they are more open in support groups, which increases their general awareness about their health condition. You can also get alternative solutions to problems rather than just one way of doing a task.

But remember, like every coin has two sides, a major drawback of online support groups is that you can’t be sure the medical advice you get online is accurate. So be sure to connect to a group which has content carefully filtered by the experts, so that only correct information reaches you.

One such group is diabetes support group by Diabee. It is one of the most active diabetes groups on Facebook with over 20,000 members. It offers authentic information, helpful tips, and healthy recipes for people living with diabetes.

Source: HCAH