Diabetes and its relationship to depression is a bit of a chicken and egg situation. Doctors and researchers don’t fully understand the relationship between diabetes and depression, but they do have some insight on how diabetes and depression can cause and exacerbate symptoms of each other.

Let’s start with diabetes. Managing diabetes can at times be overwhelming, it can lead to other health problems, and ultimately these stressors can cause symptoms of depression. On the flip side, depression can lead to diabetes if as a result of depression, an individual starts making poor eating choices, exercises less frequently, and/or smokes. These actions plus weight gain are all risk factors for diabetes. As depression worsens, it can affect a patient’s ability to focus and communicate clearly which in turn can make managing diabetes harder.

Since diabetes and depression often go hand in hand, it’s key to address your physical and mental wellbeing. Taking the right medications, seeking therapy, and healthy eating combined with frequent exercise are just a few methods to manage both depression and diabetes. If you need assistance managing your diabetes, call one of our caring professionals to handle your insulin pump, Continuous Glucose Monitor and testing supply needs.