Diabetes and Emotional Health

The emotional weight of diabetes

More than 1.5 million Australians live with diabetes, and between 25–55% experience heightened diabetes distress. Diabetes distress is the negative emotional response that comes from managing a complex and demanding condition day after day. As one woman with type 1 diabetes put it:

Diabetes distress is not a mental health disorder, but it reflects the frustration, guilt, fear and exhaustion that can accompany ongoing self-management. Elevated diabetes distress can make it harder to monitor glucose levels, take medications, or follow treatment plans, increasing the risk of complications, hospitalisations and higher healthcare costs.

Alongside diabetes distress, depression and anxiety are two to three times more common among people with diabetes than in those without the condition. This relationship is bidirectional: living with diabetes can contribute to emotional distress, while distress can worsen physical outcomes.

Recognition is central

Recognising and addressing emotional health in diabetes is central to optimal diabetes care

Significant advances are being made. In 2025 the European Association for the Study of Diabetes published the world’s first evidence-based clinical practice guideline focused on diabetes distress, marking a milestone in recognising emotional health as core to diabetes care. The guideline calls for routine screening, use of validated tools, and integration of tailored support into standard care pathways for diabetes distress.

It underscores that emotional wellbeing must sit alongside physiological targets in diabetes management.

Breaking the stigma

For many, the emotional impact of diabetes is compounded by stigma and discrimination. People with diabetes are often blamed for their condition or judged for how they manage it. This can occur in workplaces, schools, healthcare settings, and even within families, sometimes through subtle comments like, “Should you be eating that?”

Research from the Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes (ACBRD) and the International Diabetes Stigma Consensus Statement shows that stigma undermines quality of life, self-care behaviours, and mental health. It can also lead people to hide their condition or disengage from care altogether. International advocacy efforts, including the Pledge to End Diabetes Stigma and the Language Matters movement, are helping to shift public perceptions, encouraging conversations that are compassionate, factual and free of blame.

Building better support systems

Optimal diabetes care means supporting both physical and mental health. Evidence shows that emotional wellbeing improves when support is timely, respectful, and person-centred.

Effective approaches include:

• Routine screening for diabetes distress, anxiety and depression as part of standard care.
• Access to stepped-care support, from peer and digital self-help tools through to specialist psychological care for more severe distress.
• Training for health professionals in therapeutic communication and empathy.
• Integrated care pathways that address emotional wellbeing alongside glucose management.

Promising programs and resources already exist, providing a foundation for further innovation and scale. Encouragingly, Australia is leading progress in this space. Initiatives such as the Diabetes and Emotional Health handbook and toolkit, diabetes distress e-learning,  and the LISTEN program are equipping health professionals with the tools and confidence to talk about emotional wellbeing, and providing evidence-based programs to support people with diabetes. New digital models are extending this support to people in rural and underserved areas, ensuring no one is left behind.

A shared mission: supporting emotional health and ending stigma

Supporting research into the behavioural, psychological, and social aspects of diabetes, including work led by the ACBRD, is key to realising this vision. These efforts generate the evidence, resources, and training needed to make emotional health a standard part of care across Australia and globally.

This can be achieved at an individual, organisation and health system level by ensuring:

• Emotional-health conversations are standard in diabetes care.
• Diabetes care is stigma-free, and no one avoids support for fear of judgment.
• Health professionals are confident and capable in addressing psychosocial aspects.
• Applied behavioural and social-health research drives innovation across diabetes systems.

Investing in this wholistic approach to diabetes care, through applied research and implementation, is essential. It’s why the Diabetes Innovation Impact Foundation supports endeavours that connect lived experience, science and scalable outcomes.

Looking ahead with optimism

The link between emotional and physical health is undeniable. When people with diabetes feel understood, supported, and free from stigma, they are more likely to thrive, physically, mentally and socially. By investing in behavioural and psychosocial research, and by translating this knowledge into everyday care, we can ensure that emotional wellbeing becomes a cornerstone of modern diabetes management.

Together, researchers, health professionals, funders and the diabetes community, we can create a future where no one faces diabetes alone, and where we can make emotional health the standard, not the exception.