Introduction
At present the majority section of the population across the world is very well aware of the medical condition of diabetes mellitus. It refers to the condition when the blood sugar, which is the glucose level of the body, exceeds the normal range. Glucose is the key source of driving the brain providing energy to the muscles and body cells. Thus issues with the body’s glucose level affect the person psychologically to a great extent. In addition to this, it becomes essential to treat the medical condition and for that, the social aspect that is the lifestyle of the affected person needs to be modified (Alkawaldeh et al., 2020). The social lifestyle involves a change in the diet, the necessity to be under monitoring at regular intervals, and keeping a check on the blood sugar level. The lives of these people change considerably bringing about social and psychological changes. Thus for a better understanding of how diabetes mellitus affects a person socially and psychologically, an interview was conducted with a person suffering from this medical condition.
The name of the person whose interview was taken is Will Smith, gender -male, current age- 68, Occupation- Clerk at a law firm, who has been suffering from diabetes mellitus for one year now. The diabetes type that the concerned person is suffering from is type 2. He initially came to meet his general physician to acquire medications for his cholesterol coupled with his blood pressure. It was then that his doctor suggested him to take undergo a test for both cholesterols as well as blood sugar since he complained of feeling very tired. It was then after going to the clinic that Mr Smith came to know about his diabetes mellitus (Craig et al., 2020). The main purpose of this investigation is to know, assess, and understand the psychological as well as the social aspects of a person who is suffering from diabetes mellitus.
For a better understanding of diabetes mellitus in the social and psychological context, a face-to-face interview was carried out with Will Smith. It took about 2 hours to finish the interview because a total of 19 open-ended questions engaged in a deep understanding of the personal journey of the respondent. Quoting the patient “I was consistently worried about what the readings would be” reflects the level of anxiety that people suffering from diabetes mellitus go through, especially in the initial phase. It has been found that the person found it initially quite challenging as he had to bring about changes in his lifestyle starting from his food habit to the way he used to lead his life (Jaworski et al., 2018). Intake of alcohol was stopped and change was also brought about in the diet as suggested by the dietician.
Through the series of questions that were asked during the interview season, it is evident that the transition in life takes place where apart from tackling a medical condition the psychological aspect also needs to be tackled as there are reports of anxiety and tension about the disease. The disease is also found to bring about significant changes in social life as the respondent in the interview said “Challenges have been birthdays and other functions where I do indulge but I know I need to stay within my limits” signifying diabetes mellitus has a substantial connection with social and psychological aspects.
Methods
The method that was applied for assessing the connection of diabetes mellitus to social and psychological aspects is the primary qualitative method. A primary qualitative method engages in the conduction of interviews which was also carried out in the undertaken report (Flemming & Noyes, 2021). A person suffering from diabetes mellitus for quite a few years named Will Smith was interviewed. The interview took about two years because it followed an open-ended questionnaire format. There were a total of 19 questions asked to the respondent and the format of the open-ended questionnaire was beneficial in this matter. This is because open-ended questions allow for a detailed conversation, which is useful for better and in-depth understanding. This is what was required in the undertaken report as well and engaging in in-depth conversation helped in knowing about the personal experience of the person who has been suffering from the medical condition of diabetes mellitus for the past three years. How the disease affects the person’s social lifestyle and eventually creates psychological disturbances to adjust to the changes in the lifestyle like changes in diet or the pattern and timetable of consuming food. Thus conduction of the interview assisted in a better understanding of the psychological modifications that affected Mr. Smith initially, what challenges are prevalent in dealing with the diabetic condition, and how over time, He has managed to minimize the psychological turmoils like the feeling of anxiety or staying very worried about worsening situation has reduced.
Results
The interview was carried out to understand diabetes mellitus in the connection to social as well as psychological aspects. For this, a 68-year-old person named Will Smith was interviewed and it has been found that he has been suffering from diabetes mellitus since he was 67 years old, that is, last year. Initially, the person said that he used to feel tired because of which he went for a check-up with his general physician, and then upon the suggestion of the physician the respondent did a blood test and the reports suggested that his blood sugar level was quite high. To this, he shared his very first reaction “Maybe I had eaten something the day before that caused the high sugar levels.” This is because he said that he was quite shocked and that medication would not be needed. But then with the assistance of a diabetes nurse, I understood that it is a serious matter and should be considered seriously.
It is after that I used to be very anxious about my readings after going to check my level of blood sugar. He added, “My life changed significantly as I did not want to have insulin.” After this, he followed the diet chart as prescribed by his dietician and stopped consuming alcohol. Even his wife went through various studies online to find what would be best for him. He got tremendous support from his colleagues at the workplace, which is indicated when he says, “I felt like there was a lot of attention on me at work and my colleagues were constantly monitoring me”. It was pretty challenging as he says that he even had to consult a physiologist as he was unable to get up by himself.
However, with the support of the healthcare workers, his family, and colleagues at the workplace, he acquired the capacity to self-motivate himself and adjust to the modifications that were imposed because of the disease. He at present exercises five times a week and both he and his wife adopted a healthy lifestyle involving checking up on blood sugar levels at a regular interval and taking a proper diet. Within the last twelve months, he divulged that the challenge was attending any birthdays or other functions as he cannot indulge in consuming whatever he wants to have and everything that he consumes is limited. From his perspective, he shared that there is nothing difficult in dealing with diabetes mellitus except for the fact that it requires constant monitoring and doctor check-ups to be on the right track.
Discussion
Diabetes mellitus is a disease that is found to hurt the medical conditions of the person it is affecting; it also brings about drastic changes to their lifestyle. This affects the social sect and also the physiological well-being of the person suffering from this disease. The rise in blood sugar levels brings about restrictions on the food that is consumed where the majority of food substances have high sugar content (Kragelund Nielsen et al., 2018). Even those foods that are rich in carbohydrates are confined in amount for consumption. In addition to this, it also raises the chance of other diseases getting intense in the body like cholesterol. Other than dealing with medical issues, the restriction in the consumption of food and change in lifestyle affects the mental stability of the affected person to a great extent. This is also evident from the responses of the person with whom the interview was conducted (Kretchy et al., 2020). The respondent said that he found it difficult to get up by himself and required a psychologist to boost his willpower.
Self-motivation becomes a huge challenge and it greatly affects the psychological aspect of a person suffering from diabetes mellitus. People suffering from diabetes mellitus feel tired and undergo a battle as it becomes difficult for them even to attend any social functions as they cannot eat whatever they want. Even the proportion of the food is limited. This is also evident from the responses received by Will Smith in the interview that was carried out. All these challenging aspects reduce the level of motivation to push forward in life (McCoy & Theeke, 2019). It is also quite challenging to manage and keep oneself on track by transforming the lifestyle into a healthy one and monitoring the level of blood sugar by remaining under constant doctor’s appointments. Precisely the same suggestions or perceptions have been obtained from the person who was interviewed in this undertaken task for assessing the condition of diabetes mellitus and its connection with social and psychological aspects (Pamungkas et al., 2019). Therefore not only taking the right medicines at the right time along with consuming a proper diet, but it is also highly important to maintain the mental well-being of the affected person. It is then that the social, as well as psychological aspects, are managed as the medical condition of diabetes mellitus is found to have a connection and impart an effect on these two mentioned aspects.
Conclusion
The discussion has involved discussing the disease of diabetes mellitus and its connection with social as well as psychological aspects. For a better understanding of the connection, an interview with a person suffering from the same medical condition was carried out and his perception personal experience, and journey in dealing with diabetes mellitus were executed. The responses to the interview were assessed and this was followed by engaging in a discussion that helped in understanding the social and psychological context of the disease which involved real-life experiences and what challenges are underlying in transforming the lifestyle to keep the level of blood sugar under control. Thus it is perceived that not only medications but also it is essential to take care of the psychological aspects of the person suffering from diabetes mellitus involving regular exercise, keeping oneself motivated, and reducing the extent of anxiety and tension along with proper intake of food.
Reference list
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