Have you ever said, ‘I cannot cope up with this?' Or have you heard any one who is sick in your family saying, ‘I cannot cope with my sickness' or ‘I can not take care of this sick person for a long time'? How will you help the patient or your family member to cope up with the situation? May be you would help him find an alternative solution; or, may be, you would help the family members or the patient to accept the situation.
In the same way, diabetic patients may say, ‘I cannot cope up with the disease and adopt changes in my living style along with my daily work'. How will you help the patient in this situation? Yes, you would help him in the same way as you helped your family. As we know, all of us use coping skills in daily life. For instance, a person after an accident also copes up with the situation. A person uses coping skills to live with the disability caused after the accident by finding a solution, talking to friends, may learn to walk with walker/crutches to become mobile and independent. Patient has to find out a positive solution to overcome the disability and accept the situation.
Healthy coping and managing negative emotions are central to diabetes self management, since these influence health and quality of life. Therefore, you should learn about coping skills and coping mechanisms because you have to help the diabetic patient to adjust with changes in life and to have a healthy quality of life. For example, a patient sets a goal to increase the physical activity and go for regular exercise, may be walking for 25-30 minutes five times a week. In the beginning, patient may be worried how to find out time from the busy schedule. After talking to family members and with your help the patient will be able to meet that goal by making little changes in daily schedule. This achievement will help the patient to over come emotional stress associated with changing life schedule. In turn, patient will accept the advices of the doctor and will try to change life style and continue treatment for controlling blood sugar level.