Explore My Emotions

When thinking about making a change, there are often many emotions that go along with it. Sometimes these feelings can prevent us from making changes that would be helpful.

Overview of this section

This section discusses some common feelings people have when dealing with a chronic health condition like diabetes. It also offers suggestions for healthy ways of thinking and coping to help you better manage your diabetes.

Why is this important?

Your thoughts and feelings affect both your emotional and physical well-being. Acknowledging and coping with them is important for your overall health.

Some people are more comfortable thinking and talking about feelings than others. For many people, thinking about starting insulin can bring up strong emotions. In this part, you will rate how you feel about starting insulin in three key areas. You can then review different ways of thinking and coping with your feelings.

You probably have many feelings when you think about starting insulin. Some of the most common feelings people experience are: anger, worry, and guilt. Please rate how you are currently feeling.

On a scale of 0-10, how strongly do you feel?

5

not
angry

very
angry

Why do people feel angry?

Anger
Many people feel angry about starting insulin for various reasons. They often think:

• It's unfair
• This is awful
• Everything is going to change
• This is bad – people say insulin is the last resort

You may also have some feeling of anger about starting insulin.

5

not
worried

very
worried

Why do people feel worried?

Worry
Many people feel worried or nervous about starting insulin. They often think:

• It will hurt
• Taking injections is a big deal
• It will change my daily routine
• I won't be able to do this

You may also have some feeling of worry about starting insulin.

5

not
guilty

very
guilty

Why do people feel guilty?

Guilty
People feel guilty about needing to take insulin for a number of reasons. They often think:

• I've done something wrong
• I should have taken better care of myself
• This means I have failed
• I've let my loved ones down

You may also have some feeling of guilt about starting insulin.

You said that you currently don’t have strong negative emotions about starting insulin. Your feelings can change at any time, which is normal. When you do have strong negative feelings, the goal is not to get rid of your feelings but to help you reduce the intensity of emotion and the degree to which it might be getting in the way. Strong emotions may prevent you from starting insulin.

Strong emotions may prevent you from starting insulin. All of your feelings are normal. The goal is not to get rid of your feelings but to help you reduce the intensity of the feeling and the degree to which it might be getting in the way.

Coping with your emotions will enable you to focus your energy on taking steps to improve your glucose control.

Anger

Worry

Guilt

 

5

 

5

 

5

To change the way you are feeling about starting insulin, try the following exercises to help you recognize the thoughts that may cause your emotional reactions, and learn strategies to cope with them.

You are not expressing intense feelings right now but practicing these exercises will keep you thinking in a healthy way and helping you cope with your emotions.

• Anger (Recommended)
• Worry (Recommended)
• Guilt (Recommended)

Coping with your anger is useful in any situation, including starting insulin. When you feel angry, you probably have reasons for it. These reasons are often automatic thoughts that happen very quickly. Changing these unhelpful thoughts can help to reduce your anger.

This section will help you cope with your feelings of anger about starting insulin.

Realizing when you are starting to get angry can help you manage it better.

To start learning to think differently, you need to be aware of what you are thinking. Your thoughts usually generate feelings, so it is helpful to figure out what thoughts are making you angry.

What makes you angry about having to take insulin? List as many things as you can.

Your answers will not be saved. Your responses will only be used in this section to help you practice alternative ways of thinking. You will be able to print out your responses at the end of the activity.

When we’re angry at something our thinking can become exaggerated. We also often make harsh judgments, unrealistic demands, and think illogically when we are mad.

Challenging your thinking can help you form a more realistic view that can help to reduce your anger. When challenging your thoughts, it is helpful to ask yourself:

• Is this a fact or just a thought?
• What proof is there that the thought isn’t true?
• Is there another way of looking at it?

Now try challenging your angry thoughts by asking yourself the following questions:

• Is this a fact or just a thought?
• What proof is there that the thought isn’t true?
• Is there another way of looking at it?

Your answers will not be saved. Your responses will only be used in this section to help you practice alternative ways of thinking. You will be able to print out your responses at the end of the activity.

When you start getting angry, try calming down by taking a few deep breaths and then use your alternative thoughts:

When you start thinking...

Click HERE to print your alternative thoughts.

Many people feel nervous about starting insulin. Your worries can lead to nervousness or anxious feelings that could prevent you from making healthy changes. Coping with these emotions is necessary for taking new steps, like starting insulin.

This section will help you begin to develop healthier thoughts and help reduce your worry about starting insulin.

Often when people think and worry about their condition, they start to get nervous or anxious. This can show up in different ways in different people.

• Sometimes people feel tense.
• Some people have trouble falling asleep or staying asleep because they have so much on their minds.
• Some people find it harder to focus on things or remember details because nervousness and worry can affect concentration.
• Some people find they have less emotional energy for small things or they might become frustrated more easily.

Each of these can be a sign that coping with diabetes is taking a bit of a toll, but they’re very common experiences.

Fortunately, our bodies also have a “relaxation response” that can calm us down. You can stimulate your relaxation response whenever you need. You can learn to catch yourself when you’re worrying by watching for clues like shallow breathing, muscle tension, and feeling distracted. To the right are some strategies you can try when you start worrying:

After practicing some relaxation strategies so you feel calmer, you can start trying to change your thinking patterns to reduce your worry and nervousness.

Some of your thoughts might make nervousness worse. Often these thoughts happen so fast, you don’t even know you have them. Yet, they often drive your feelings and choices. Without doing something differently, your nervousness can increase.

When you start worrying and feeling nervous it is important to stop and consider what you are telling yourself. Think about the thought that is making you nervous.

When you think about starting insulin, what nervous thoughts do you have?

Your answers will not be saved. Your responses will only be used in this section to help you practice alternative ways of thinking. You will be able to print out your responses at the end of the activity.

Generally these nervous thoughts add to your nervousness, making you feel less confident and able to do what you need. Questioning your nervous thoughts can be useful in creating more helpful alternative thoughts. When questioning your thoughts, it is helpful to ask:

• Is this a useful way to think about this?
• Am I trying to predict the future?
• Is this a thought or a fact?
• What would I tell a friend who said this?

Now try questioning your nervous thoughts and coming up with helpful, alternative thoughts by asking yourself:

• Is this a useful way to think about this?
• Am I trying to predict the future?
• Is this a thought or a fact?
• What would I tell a friend who said this?

Your answers will not be saved. Your responses will only be used in this section to help you practice alternative ways of thinking. You will be able to print out your responses at the end of the activity..

When you start worrying, practice a relaxation strategy and use your alternative thoughts:

When you start thinking...

Click HERE to print your alternative thoughts.

Feeling guilty happens when we believe we have done something wrong. Some guilt can be useful if it helps us make healthy choices (e.g., eating 1 piece of cake instead of 2 or swapping ice cream with yogurt and fruit). However, too much guilt can be self-defeating, preventing you from taking positive steps for your health (e.g., starting insulin).

The goal of coping with your guilt is not to get rid of your feeling, but to help you reduce the intensity of it. This less intense negative emotion will allow you to take steps to improve your health.

This section will help you begin to develop healthier thoughts and feelings about starting insulin.

Guilt, like most of our feelings, is linked to our thoughts. Our thoughts influence our emotional reaction to events.

Something happens

You have a thought about it

You have an emotional reaction to the thought

What guilty thoughts do you have about taking insulin?

Your answers will not be saved. Your responses will only be used in this section to help you practice alternative ways of thinking. You will be able to print out your responses at the end of the activity.

We often have unrealistic thoughts that influence our perception of events. The demanding nature of some of our thoughts causes us to become upset. Having less demanding and more flexible thoughts can lead to healthier emotional reactions and behaviors. Common demanding thoughts are:

• I must do well or else I am no good
• I must have others approval or else I am no good

View some alternative thoughts to common thoughts about starting insulin. Replacing the old thought with a more flexible one can reduce the intensity of guilt.

Try changing your negative thoughts to more realistic and tolerant views.

Your answers will not be saved. Your responses will only be used in this section to help you practice alternative ways of thinking. You will be able to print out your responses at the end of the activity.

When you start feeling guilty, practice using your alternative thoughts to reduce the intensity of the feeling:

When you start thinking...

Click HERE to print your alternative thoughts.

You’ve worked with your thoughts and feelings in a new way. Emotions can change depending on what you are thinking and doing from moment to moment.

On a scale of 0 – 10, how angryworriedguilty do you feel right now?

Enter a number to the right.

You have completed this section.

My feelings of angerworryguilt
BEFORE

My feelings of angerworryguilt
NOW

 

5

 

5

You’ve made some progress with your anger. You may have reduced your feelings of anger by changing how you think.

You’ve made some progress with your worry. You may have reduced your worries by changing how you think.

You’ve made some progress with your feelings of guilt. You may have changed your feelings of guilt by changing how you think.

Taking care of your health is a complex issue. You might continue to have some strong thoughts and feelings about starting insulin, and these may come back unexpectedly. Remember to pay attention to these thoughts and feelings because they can affect your health choices and actions.

Changing how you think about things takes time and practice. The more often you use the strategies in this section, the faster your thinking may change, reducing your feelings of anger.

Your feelings of anger didn’t decrease, but changing how you think about things takes time and practice. Remember to pay attention to your thoughts and feelings because they can affect your health choices and actions.

The more often you use the strategies in this section, the faster your thinking may change, reducing your feelings of anger.

Taking care of your health is a complex issue. You might continue to have some strong thoughts and feelings about starting insulin, and these may come back unexpectedly. Remember to pay attention to these thoughts and feelings because they can affect your health choices and actions.

Changing how you think about things takes time and practice. With the strategies in this section, your thinking may change, reducing your worry and nervous feelings.

Your feelings of worry didn’t decrease, but changing how you think about things takes time and practice. Remember to pay attention to your thoughts and feelings because they can affect your health choices and actions.

With repeated use of the tools in this section, your thinking may change, reducing your worry and nervous feelings.

Taking care of your health is a complex issue. You might continue to have some strong thoughts and feelings about starting insulin, and these may come back unexpectedly. Remember to pay attention to these thoughts and feelings because they can affect your health choices and actions.

Changing how you think about things takes time and practice. The more you use the strategies in this section, the faster your thinking may change, reducing your feelings of guilt.

Your feelings of guilt didn’t decrease, but changing how you think about things takes time and practice. Remember to pay attention to your thoughts and feelings because they can affect your health choices and actions.

The more you use the tools in this section, the faster your thinking may change, reducing your feelings of guilt.

> Explore More Emotions