It’s exhausting, it is exhausting. It really is, to constantly take care of yourself and have to worry about everything you eat, everything you do, every move you make.

Flickr / Harshit Sekhon

This quote is from the original research article in AJN’s December issue, “Experiences of Diabetes Burnout: A Qualitative Study Among People with Type 1 Diabetes.” (You can read it for free and can also earn CE credits.)

Defining burnout.

The report details the results of interviews conducted by the authors to learn more about diabetes burnout, a phenomenon they define as “a state of mental, emotional, and physical exhaustion following an apathetic detachment from one’s illness identity, diabetes self-care behaviors, and support systems, which is commonly accompanied by a feeling of powerlessness.”

In the interview excerpt above, one of the study participants, a 36-year-old woman with type 1 diabetes, aptly describes the constant attention required to manage the disease. This relentless focus on time, diet, activity, and blood glucose levels are wearying in themselves. When this 24-7 effort is still not enough to control glucose levels, the resulting sense of frustration and lack of control contribute to burnout.

Supportive, nonjudgmental providers help.

The study participants did note, however, that having supportive health care providers “who engaged them in a judgment-free conversation about self-care made a significant difference,” as did focusing on patients’ personal progress and what they were doing well.

In a 2007 special supplement on diabetes care, we published a first-person account, “Respect for the Patient,” in which author Michael Weiss discusses what he wants health care providers to know about the burden of managing diabetes. In the piece, he also shares that he recently developed colon cancer. I was struck by a statement he made about the diagnosis: “My feelings of fear, anger, and frustration regarding this cancer pale in comparison with those I have toward my diabetes.” Read his story for free until the end of the month.