My Child Has Diabetes: E-book for parents of children with Juvenile Diabetes

One of the fallouts of a chronic disease is stress. Stress for everyone. It's tough enough that we live in a high-pressure, fast-paced society. Psychologist Carl Thorsen, a Stanford University researcher, reports that one of every five American high-school students shows signs of chronic stress. Thorsen states there's every reason to believe stress may be prevalent among elementary-school children as well.

Those are pretty sweeping statements from Mr. Thorsen. Even if he's only close in his findings, they represent a huge number of children. Consider the stress of daily diabetes management for both you and your child. Add that to the stress of living in today's society and it becomes a little clearer the amount of stress the family with a diabetic child faces everyday.

What kind of stresses are we talking about? One of the biggest for me early on was making my baby cry by sticking her with a needle time and time again each day. Day after day, week after week, month after month… It can make you crazy and break your heart. You also have to manage the stress of well meaning but ignorant family members, friends, and strangers.

How often has it seemed you measured every bite, counted every carbohydrate, measured the exact amount of insulin and your child's meter reads 462? How about when you aren't so perfect? Maybe you forget to count something they ate. Maybe you forgot to give an injection. Maybe you just beat yourself up because you can't fix diabetes and make your child “well” again.

What kind of stress does having diabetes add to the lives of our children? How about the feeling of being different from everyone else? In every child I have spoken with that has been right at the top of their list of concerns. They have the stress of often not feeling well. It's hard to be at your best in school or socially when you feel lousy. Consider the fact they get no respite from having the disease. All day everyday for the rest of there lives. If we get sick for more than 3 days it seems like the end of the world. Consider what forever must be like.

People suffering from chronic stress often exhibit competitiveness and impatience. Our children may tend to internalize anger and seem less confident at times. Other symptoms of stress include sweaty palms, rapid heartbeat, muscle tension, and sleeping trouble. Many of those same symptoms can be associated with low blood sugar. It just makes it that much more difficult to identify.

What can we do to reduce some of this stress especially in our children? One father participating in a research project gave more than one hundred directions to his child in eight minutes. We need to ask ourselves are we contributing to the amount of stress in their lives? What can we do starting today to reduce the stress in our homes?

Talk, don't bug! I took a look at some of my habits when I'm speaking with my kids. I can be a bugger. Bugging is when you talk in order to get your child to do something. Talking is when you don't want anything.

Make yourself aware of clinical social workers, psychologists, and other mental health professionals so that when the time comes to get help you know who to ask. Some types of depression are easily treated especially if they are diagnosed early.

The best action we as parents can take is to be aware. Be aware that there will be a lot of stress in ours and our children's lives. Keep an eye out for the signs. Know where to turn when the time comes. And understand that as time goes by and we become more comfortable with our part of daily diabetes management, the exact opposite is often true for our children. We must always be there to listen and support. We must be strong so we can help our children be strong.

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Stress, Your Child, Diabetes, and You