Good 4 You: Mental fitness for diabetes – WOAI

by Delaine Mathieu, News 4 San Antonio

Good 4 You: Mental fitness for diabetes

There's a unique new therapy group in San Antonio designed to help people living with diabetes cope with the disease. It's called Mental Fitness for Diabetes. The goal of the program is to help treat mental side-effects that come along with diabetes. "I remember when I was diagnosed with diabetes," said Sarah Villegas. "March 31 for 2016. So, it's been a year."

The 71-year-old registered nurse was completely surprised when she was diagnosed with type two diabetes. "When the doctor came in and showed me my lab results," she explained. "I looked at the paper and I said, are you kidding me?"

Villegas lost seventeen pounds and got her condition under control. When she heard about this new mental fitness group, she was pleasantly surprised. "Never in my 49 years as a registered nurse -- to combine diabetes, a major chronic illness with a major mental health illness, which is chronic, and put them together -- that is an awesome concept," she said.

Valerie Moczgemba, with Alamo Wellness Group, will be running the sessions. "A lot of times, people who have been diagnosed with diabetes experience depression anxiety," she said. "There also may be anger or irritability. She said they'll be focusing on disease management and how mental health symptoms play into disease management.

Villegas says it's high time a treatment like this is made available for people with diabetes. "It cannot be ignored," she said. "We need to address their physical health issues as well as the mental issues. They both go hand-in-hand."

April 30th is the last day to register. If you're interested in signing up, go to alamowellnessgroup.com.

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Good 4 You: Mental fitness for diabetes - WOAI