Using EMDR in maintaining blood sugar in a client with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus

Insulin dependent diabetes mellitus is a chronic condition in which there is a decreased production of insulin , lack of insulin results in high blood sugar. It usually starts before the age of fifteen years but can occur in adults also. Treatment is a fine balance between insulin , self monitoring of glucose, meal planning and exercise. Stressful life events ,anxiety and negative mood have been associated with increased blood sugar and thus increased intake. Negative mood states result in poor health care which indirectly increases blood sugar. In this case study a thirty year old married female who was undergoing EMDR for stress , coincidently found that her blood sugar levels had improved her requirement for insulin had decreased. She had initially reported with anxiety which she thought was triggered by her relationship with her mother-in-law. After a few sessions of EMDR as her anxiety decreased she also reported a decrease in her intake of insulin as her blood sugar levels had improved. From then onwards the course of her treatment changed. All her dysfunstional beliefs were mapped out grouped and then targeted. The client now says; ‘Both physically and mentally I felt changes inside myself.I was sad my energy was going down and so was my body. When EMDR started I recovered emotionally and felt strong physically .I started going to the gym, started eating healthy and started meeting people who I had avoided for years and now I feel confident and healthy’. It is concluded that EMDR can untie dysfunctional beliefs leading to stress and increasing insulin requirement in Insulin Dependent Diabetic Client.

Conference

English

Khadija Tahir

Tahir, K. (2017, April). Using EMDR in maintaining blood sugar in a client with insulin dependent diabetes mellitus. In EMDR case studies - EMDR in the treatment of fears and phobias (Evelyn Wright, Chair). Presentation at the 3rd EMDR Asia International Conference, Shanghai, China