Does kindness matter? Diabetes, depression, and self-compassion: a selective review and research agenda
Open accessAbstract
Depression and severe psychological distress are frequently comorbid with diabetes and are associated with reduced adherence to medication and healthy lifestyle regimens, poorer glycemic control, and increased complications. The mixed success of existing treatments for depression in diabetes patients suggests a need for supplementary approaches to this common problem. This article reviews recent evidence for the benefits of self-compassion in chronically ill patients, suggesting its utility as a clinical tool for improving self-care, depression, and glycemic control in diabetes. Possible physical and psychological pathways by which self-compassion may promote better outcomes in diabetes patients are considered, with particular attention given to reductions in negative self-judgment and improved motivation to undertake self-care.
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Living with diabetes may increase one's experience of self-criticism.
“Living with diabetes may increase one's experience of self-criticism (Friis et al., 2015) as diabetes is a stigmatised condition.”
From An online acceptance, commitment, and self-compassion based treatment to decrease psychological distress in people with type 2 diabetes: A feasibility randomised-controlled trial (2023) · cites this paper as Friis et al., 2015
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A CROSS-SECTIONAL STUDY: PREVALENCE OF DEPRESSION AMONG DIABETIC PATIENTS
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- Authors
- Friis, A. M., Consedine, N. S., & Johnson, M. H.
- Affiliations
- University of Auckland (NZ)
- Corresponding author
- Consedine, Nathan S.
- ORCID
- Consedine, Nathan S.
- Venue
- Diabetes Spectrum
- Publisher
- American Diabetes Association
- Published
- 2015-11-01
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 252-257
- ISSN
- 1040-9165 (ISSN-L)
- 1944-7353
- PMC
- PMC4647176
- OpenAlex
- W2172969561
- Cited by
- 33
- References
- 45
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 2 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 4 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 5
- FWCI
- 3.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Licence
- Locations
- Diabetes Spectrum (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Mindfulness and Compassion Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Education
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Endocrinology, Diabetes and Metabolism › Diabetes Management and Research
- Keywords
- self-compassion, diabetes mellitus, depression, comorbidities, glycemic control, medication adherence, self-care, motivation, psychological distress, chronic disease
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