Denial

Receiving a diagnosis of Diabetes is life changing. Although you may aknowledge the diagnosis, it is not uncommon to experience some form of denial. Denial is defined as the action of declaring something to be untrue. At some point in life everybody experiences denial, as it can be your body’s response when you're unable or unwilling to face the cold hard facts. Denial is not always a bad thing- often times it occurs when you are struggling to accept something that seems overwhelming or stressful. Denial in the short term may have a protective purpose in helping you to process the feeling of overwhelming stress. Being in denial usually involves weighing the evidence in favor of your perspective more heavily than the evidence against it. In the short term it may be protective, but in the long term the effects are negative.

As an adult recieving the diagnosis, you may feel this can not be true. “I am too old to have type one diabetes!” At age 15 you may feel this is a total mistake, “I do not have diabetes!” “I do not have a chronic disease, family members are treating me like I am delicate or sick!” “I don’t have diabetes, I am the same person I was last week!” Denial may be based in the fear of being judged as different by your friends. There are many emotions that we experience when being diagnosed with a chronic disease.