Mild depressive feelings are a normal part of grieving and adaptation. As long as they are not pervasive or prolonged, they may not be harmful. However, when the depression lasts a long time, becomes severe or interferes with diabetic management, one should seek prompt treatment. Individuals achieve different degrees of acceptance and inner peace. Some will need to experience the denial, anger and depression several times as they move through different phases of life and different stages of diabetes.
Some people move through a chronic disease to a state of much greater self-knowledge.
They may actually say that the diabetes was, in part, a blessing. Through their close attention to diet and exercise, and their close monitoring of stress levels, they have arrived at a deeper understanding of themselves and their relations to others. They realize that for all human beings, life is vulnerable and precious. Often, individuals with depression do not realize that they are depressed. It is easy to attribute the symptoms of depression to the diabetes.