Diabetes Care Counselling
Diabetes is a chronic medical condition where the body’s ability to produce or respond to the hormone insulin is impaired, resulting in abnormal metabolism of carbohydrates and elevated levels of glucose in the blood and urine. There are two main types: Type 1 diabetes, where the body fails to produce insulin, and Type 2 diabetes, where the body cannot effectively use the insulin it produces.
Common Symptoms of Diabetes Include
- Increased Thirst and Frequent Urination: Excess sugar building up in your bloodstream causes fluid to be pulled from the tissues, leading to dehydration and a need to urinate more frequently.
- Increased Hunger: Insufficient insulin to transport sugar into your cells leads to intense hunger.
- Fatigue: When cells are deprived of sugar, the body becomes tired and irritable.
- Blurred Vision: Changes in fluid levels in your body can make the lenses in your eyes swell up, affecting your ability to focus.
- Slow-healing Sores or Frequent Infections: High blood sugar levels impair the body’s natural healing process and its ability to fight infections.
- Unexplained Weight Loss: Using other sources of energy besides carbohydrates can lead to rapid weight loss, especially in Type 1 diabetes.
- Numbness or Tingling in Feet or Hands: High blood sugar can cause type 2 diabetes neuropathy, which affects nerves leading to sensation loss.
These symptoms can be worrying and confusing for individuals and their families, particularly when dealing with the diagnosis of a chronic condition like diabetes.
How Counselling at MANOURJA Effectively Treats Diabetes
While medical treatment is crucial for diabetes management, Counselling can play a vital role in helping individuals cope with the psychological and lifestyle aspects of diabetes care.
- Diabetes Self-Management Education : Helps individuals gain the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary for diabetes self-care. This includes nutritional advice, the importance of physical activity, blood sugar monitoring, and medication management.
- Behavioral Counselling: Supports changes in diet and exercise habits, essential for effective diabetes management. It also addresses psychological barriers to behavior change.
- Stress Management: Chronic stress can affect blood glucose levels. Counselling can help develop effective stress-reduction techniques.
- Family Counselling: Educates family members about diabetes and involves them in the care process, which is especially important for ensuring support at home.
- Motivational Interviewing: Enhances motivation to change by helping clients explore and resolve ambivalence about making health-related changes.
Steps in MANOURJA’s Counselling Process for Diabetes
- Comprehensive Assessment: Evaluate the individual’s understanding of diabetes, current management strategies, lifestyle, and psychological health.
- Goal Setting: Develop specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound (SMART) goals related to diabetes management.
- Development of a Personalized Treatment Plan: Tailor interventions that include DSME, behavioral Counselling, stress management, and family involvement based on individual needs.
- Regular Counselling Sessions: Provide ongoing support and education, address emerging issues, and adjust the management plan as needed.
- Continuous Monitoring and Adjustment: Assess progress and make necessary adjustments to ensure the treatment remains effective and relevant to the individual’s needs.
Through Counselling and educational support, MANOURJA aims to empower individuals with diabetes to manage their condition effectively, enhancing their quality of life and ensuring they have the support needed to face daily challenges.
“Each new day is a fresh opportunity to take control of your health, one step at a time.”