Diabetes in Children: Definition of Diabetes Burnout and How Peer Pressure Contributes to Diabetes

Diabetes is not only an extremely common health condition, it is also a lifestyle. Living with diabetes is a challenge, because of the amount of time it takes to treat the condition. From a general standpoint, dealing with diabetes is a tiring task that can seem discouraging to individuals with the condition. This is why doctors advise people to go to their loved ones with diabetes and “take the time to hear where people are coming from and understand why they’re feeling burned out”. Diabetes burnout would be the term given to the state of disillusion, frustration and somewhat submission to the condition of diabetes. Burnout can be characterized by a person's complete disregard for their blood sugar levels. In fact, these symptoms of frustration can commonly be found in children who suffer from diabetes. Children do not yet understand the full weight and responsibility that coincides with chronic illnesses. Medical professionals believe that “If we keep pushing the diabetes and not letting them be children, it’s going to make the diabetes burnout worse”. For most diabetes patients, they will have the condition for the rest of their lives. However, through the course of time, diabetes can be controlled with the proper treatments. To further understand how to handle children handle diabetes burn out, one must understand what diabetes actually does to an individuals disposition.

What is “diabetes burnout”?

Every human has the propensity to grow lazy after doing an action continuously. However, diabetes is a long lasting health condition that requires much care and surveillance. Diabetes and diabetes burnout can attack any individual, including children. Essentially, it is everyone’s “job as health care professionals and parents is to help our children integrate diabetes into their life rather than the other way around”. Diabetes is not exactly an easy concept to for children to understand. Usually, children do not understand the importance of a decent blood glucose level. For more serious cases of diabetes, there is a large selection of equipment to utilize. Children are not yet equipped with this knowledge, causing them to burn out. When experiencing diabetes burnout, diabetic patients go into “a state in which people feel stress, sadness, or weariness from managing diabetes, is often characterized by a drop-off in self-care behaviors. You may notice your loved one is irritable and has skipped blood glucose checks for some time, for example”. Young children are usually very emotional when it comes to uncomfortable situations. Through the eyes of a child, diabetes care can seem painful, boring and sometimes scary. As a condition, diabetes is a huge task to give a child, but it is not impossible to complete. For the most part, “people with diabetes take care of themselves with maximum energy every day, persistently monitoring how food, physical activity, and medications affect their blood glucose levels and weight. So it’s understandable that they might feel burnout on occasion”. Children can grow bored and disinterested very easily, because of their fickle and curious nature. Diabetes burnout occurs as a result of stress and displeasure. For children, both of these emotions can occur without warning.

Peer pressure

Peer pressure is the social pressure by members of one's peer group to take a certain action, adopt certain values, or otherwise conform in order to be accepted. Peer pressure can occur during any point in an individuals life. Peer pressure is mostly viewed among children, teenagers and young adults. When it comes to childhood, “kids are determined to fit in with their peers and don’t want to think of themselves as different or unable to engage in the kind of activities their friends do”. Peer pressure can cause diabetic children to believe that they are just as healthy as the other children. Sadly, this is not the case for every child that suffers from this condition. On another note, diabetes burnout has the ability to cause individuals to completely give up on their treatments and ignore their diabetic issues. When children are pressured into experiencing diabetes burnout, “they may lack motivation for self-care, skipping insulin doses or getting lax with food on a school trip. You may notice your child has higher-than-normal glucose readings or seems less diligent about diabetes management”. Peer pressure can be eliminated with proper care from a loving individual. Ultimately, the decision to get better rests with beholder of the health condition.

The long haul

Diabetes burnout does not only effect children in a negative manor, it can last for quite some time. A diabetic patient at any age can experience the symptoms of diabetes burnout. Some daily activities can become too tedious or irritating, and diabetes requires constant care. In fact, “teens and adults who have had diabetes from a young age often feel fed up at some point”. There is only so much strain a person can take before they experience changes in their moods and emotions. At some moments, taking care of diabetes can be considered boring or unnecessary. Many adults have contempt for having to deal with the daily pressures of diabetes care. Both patients and doctors agree that “there is nothing intrinsically motivating to manage your diabetes. The goal of avoiding future heart, eye, kidney, and nerve damage is hard to relate to the daily demands and challenges of management”. Children and young adults do not always understand the value of staying healthy because they are so young. Their youth also makes them the perfect candidates for perpetual boredom. To eliminate this issue, parents and loved ones need to speak to their children. However, their conversations should not revolve around diabetes care. For instance, “if your child comes home from school excited to tell you about a soccer game or something else, then listen. Avoid launching into diabetes management questions the moment he walks through the door”. Children with diabetes are not much different from children without the condition. The children with diabetes need to take extra care if they wish to lead productive lives. It is the parents job to remind these children that they are not being discriminated against or left out of the group.

Overall, diabetes is another health condition and as such, it requires much care and even more patience. The most common problem associated with diabetes burnout would be the blatant lack of motivation. For children, motivation is an important part of gaining structure in life. However, when it comes to an illness such as diabetes, the children with this condition must learn a new level of responsibility. Diabetes treatment is not always a fun activity, this is because diabetes never seems to disappear. Most doctors and medical professionals believe that “no one has perfect blood glucose control”, indicating that no one with diabetes is perfect. With that being the case, children do not need to feel pressured about their diabetes treatments. Furthermore, it is the parent’s “job as a caregiver or relative is to take away the pressure to have perfect glucose readings”. If a child is receiving proper diabetes care, there are individuals that go out of their way to ensure the health of that child. Outside of this, children are still children and they have the prerogative to act as such. To any parent that may “notice changes in self-care habits, or your child seems listless or withdrawn, it could be a sign of burnout”. Burnout does not always mean that a child is displeased with themselves, but it is an indication that they can feel overwhelmed by certain diabetic issues. Essentially, every child needs a break from the things that keep them from being healthy and happy children.