Mental health support to be offered to people with diabetes in UK first

Cardiff-based Naomi Durnham, 34, recounts how her battle with depression during the pandemic left her questioning her role as a mother. After giving birth to her second daughter, she felt her young daughters “would be fine if they didn’t have me,” a sentiment that underscored her emotional turmoil. Her experience highlights the urgent need for integrated care, as Diabetes UK reports that individuals with diabetes are twice as likely to suffer from depression, complicating their ability to access timely support.

A UK-first initiative for holistic care

A pioneering program in the UK aims to address this gap by providing tailored mental health services to diabetes patients. Spearheaded by a diabetes psychology expert, the initiative seeks to bridge the divide between physical and mental health care. Cardiff and Vale health board, which operates a perinatal mental health service, expressed regret over Naomi’s struggles and emphasized its commitment to compassionate, effective care. While unable to comment on specific cases, the board urged her to reach out to its concerns team.

“My health visitor noticed I wasn’t myself and insisted I needed more help, so she called my GP for me,” Naomi explained. “But they kept increasing my antidepressant dosage without ever suggesting perinatal mental health support.”

During lockdown, Naomi’s mental state deteriorated to the point where she stopped administering insulin, risking a severe condition known as diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA). The illness caused her blood to become acidic, leading to multiple hospital stays. She described feeling abandoned in her struggle, as medical teams often attributed her issues to diabetes while mental health professionals saw them as a physical problem.

Naomi’s recovery relied on peer networks, online communities, and charity assistance. While these resources helped her restart her nursing studies, she remains anxious about the lasting effects on her children. “It took me a while to accept I needed help,” she admitted. “I felt guilty for not being there for the girls, and I feared I was harming them.”

Duke Al’s journey with diabetes and OCD

Spoken word poet Duke Al, 32, was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes at 23. Initially, he embraced the news, but over time, frustrations grew. The diabetes nurses who guided him through insulin injections were “fantastic… gentle and caring,” he said, but the diagnosis began to affect his self-perception. “I felt like a weaker version of myself,” he recalled.

“That frustration turned into self-destruct mode. I’d skip insulin doses on purpose, which could be dangerous,” Duke shared. “Diabetes collided with my OCD, creating a vicious cycle of intrusive thoughts and compulsions.”

Duke’s OCD manifests as obsessive thoughts about numbers and routines. He feels compelled to perform repetitive actions to prevent perceived failures. “Uncertainty is like a super-glued grip on my brain—what if something goes wrong and it’s my fault?” he said, acknowledging the irrationality of his fears. This dual burden of managing diabetes and mental health has left him wary of the long-term consequences for his well-being.

Both Naomi and Duke’s stories underscore the challenges faced by diabetes patients in accessing coordinated care. Their experiences are now part of a broader push to create specialized services that recognize the intertwined nature of physical and mental health struggles. The new pathway aims to ensure such cases are no longer overlooked, offering a more unified approach to treatment.