People with diabetes and those at risk are increasingly turning to the not-for-profit, Jewish Guild for the Blind’s Bendheim Center for Diabetes Care, for help with managing the disease.
At The Guild, a continuum of preventive care, treatment, support and education is offered to individuals with diabetes in order that they may learn to cope with the disease and its accompanying emotional challenges.
Many people with diabetes can feel sad, nervous or depressed. Required lifestyle changes and new, complicated daily routines can be overwhelming and frustrating. For example, each day, a person with diabetes must maintain a special diet, perhaps take pills or inject insulin, test blood sugar, take special care of their feet, exercise, and keep track of medical appointments.
Diabetic adults can have happy, healthy lives while living with this illness, but they must take responsibility for their own health. It may be difficult at times, but, “The more you can take control of your own daily routine, the better you will feel,” explained Karen McCauley, RN, CDE, Guild diabetes nurse educator.
The Jewish Guild for the Blind offers some great tips to successfully manage diabetes:
•Learn new ways to control your reactions to stressful situations, such as breathing or relaxation exercises.
•Physical exercise helps. Take a long walk to clear your head.
•Think about healthy ways to reduce stress. If they work, keep relying on them.
•Take a class. At The Guild’s Bendheim Center for Diabetes Care in New York City, classes are available in Diabetes Self Management Education.
•Join a support group. Meeting people who are trying to learn the same things can make you feel better, and less alone. It can be a place to share ideas and make new friends. If you would prefer, make an appointment with a social worker or a doctor for one-on-one support.
•Remember, everybody is different and it is important to manage stress in the way that is right for you.
The Jewish Guild for the Blind’s Bendheim Center for Diabetes Care and Behavioral Health Clinic offer support, health care, counseling and education. For more information, please call (212) 769-6263 or visit www.jgb.org
The Jewish Guild for the Blind, one of the nation’s foremost not-for-profit health care agencies, has been serving blind, visually impaired and multi-disabled children, adults and the elderly since 1914. Thousands of individuals are helped annually through a wide range of programs and services specifically designed to support and enhance their physical, emotional and intellectual functioning.
Rehabilitation therapies, education programs, adaptive skills and job preparation programs are designed to help persons who are visually impaired achieve lives of independence and dignity. The Jewish Guild for the Blind is nonsectarian. The Guild is located at 15 West 65th Street in Manhattan. For more information, please visit www.jgb.org.
