DIABETES AWARENESS MONTH

Diabetes Awareness Month is observed every November throughout the United States to bring attention to the disease and those affected by it. World Diabetes Day (November 14th) was created by the International Diabetes Foundation and the World Health Organization in 1991 in response to growing concerns about the escalating health threat posed by diabetes. It is the largest diabetes awareness campaign, reaching over 1 billion people in more than 160 countries.

For the month of November, the Children’s Diabetes Foundation and the Barbara Davis Center highlighted the importance of mental health for those impacted by type 1 diabetes. Those with type 1 diabetes are 2 times higher risk than their peers to have depression. Mental Health is more important than ever, and CDF recognizes the impact type 1 diabetes has on those with the disease.

The Children’s Diabetes Foundation created the #T1DNeverAlone movement which aimed to bring together those impacted by type 1 diabetes and bring awareness to the not only the physical toll t1d has, but the mental challenges as well. Select participants were featured on social media for Mental Health Mondays and also helped educate about the impact diabetes has through Let’s Talk Thursdays and Self-Care Saturdays online.

Throughout the month of November, CDF was supported by fundraisers from Kendra Scott, Dillard’s, and Diamonds for Diabetes where a portion of all proceeds benefited CDF. In addition, iconic Denver facilities illuminated their buildings with blue lights! If you drove around town in November, you saw Ball Arena, DaVita Headquarters, The Confluence, City & County of Denver building, Union Station and Empower Field at Mile High light up in blue in support of diabetes.

The popular type 1 diabetes toolkit products are back for this year’s Diabetes Awareness Month (November)! Help start the conversation on diabetes and support those with our t1d toolkit shirts and sweatshirts. Visit https:// childrensdiabetesfoundation.itemorder.com/sale to place your order today!

Patients who need additional mental health support can always call and speak with one of our asocial workers or ask to meet with one of us at their appt. We can help the family get a better sense of what they might be needing or looking for in a mental health provider and make a good referral. Sometimes, that might be to our own psychologist, Holly O’Donnell, PhD if she is accepting patients.

Mental health crisis generally involves a person having thought of wanting to harm themselves or others, or someone who is so disabled by their symptoms they are unable to participate in activities of daily living such as showering, getting dressed, eating regularly, working, going to school. We would of course prefer for people to seek help before they get to the point of crisis. Perhaps a person finds they are not finding pleasure in activities they previously enjoyed, or their attention and focus is much worse. They might be moodier, more irritable, or more tearful. Really, mental health is broad, but it ultimately comes down to living your best life that is in alignment with your values, and anyone who feels like they need help getting their life back on track would benefit from mental health support/ therapy.

I personally clinically screen my patients. What this means is that I have a conversation with people about what is happening in their lives, what is bringing them distress, and we talk about what might be helpful. Sometimes, I am able to provide some small interventions in clinic during a routine diabetes visit that patients or families find helpful, other times I might refer them out for therapy. The BDC is conducting annual depression screening as recommended by The American Diabetes Association using an instrument called the PHQ9. We do this in an effort to identify depression early in young people living with T1D so that we can encourage them to get treatment.

We know that those living with T1D are at increased risk for anxiety and depression. We don’t totally understand the pathophysiology or why but we do know that living life with T1D is hard. People with t1D are required to go above and beyond every day and that can be overwhelming and exhausting. Many years ago I did a review of resilience research. Resilience is defined as strength in the face of challenge or adversity. I wondered if resilience could be learned or is it something we are born with. What I learned from my research is that resilience is really a fancy word for coping and all of us can practice and learn to practice healthy coping skills. I also learned that a common denominator of coping is the ability to ask for help. It’s simple buy yet soooo hard. People have been taught they need be strong and do things for themselves but why? It’s actually healthier to ask for help. So yes, if you are struggling or if you are stuck emotionally, ask for help. It is out there, and it can change your life!