
Navigating Marriage When You Both Have Diabetes
Navigating Marriage When You Both Have Diabetes
Couples who manage together, stay together
So many resources for couples and diabetes seem to focus on one spouse with diabetes. But what if both of you have diabetes? Real married couples give their secrets for success in navigating the highs and lows that life throws their way.
Experts will tell you that communication is key in making any relationship succeed. When two people have diabetes, the push and pull between openness and privacy can feel even more fraught, says Jenna Eisenberg, LMFT, owner and operator of Denver Diabetes Counseling and Denver Marriage and Family Therapy.
In counseling couples with diabetesand in her own life with type 1 diabetes Eisenberg urges patients to be honest with each other but to err toward privacy when it comes to sharing all aspects of their diabetes.
Eisenberg suggests that couples set boundaries and guidelines about diabetes early on in their relationship. Those boundaries can be modified as partners assess their needs. Asking what each person needs of the other, really listening to that response, and respecting each others wishes are the keys to keeping communication lines open.
The way you treat your diabetes may be different than how your spouse treats his or hers, Eisenberg says. That may mean that you have a daily check-in about your diabetes but only ask about your partners when you spot signs of a low. Eisenberg says concern, or even fear, can cause you to want to push a bit, but its important to respect each others wishes, even if that means leaving each other alone for a
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