Raising awareness on diabetes and its intersection with mental health

I was always one of those macho guys saying, ‘Men don’t suffer from mental illness. Men don’t get depressed. [Then] I would ask my wife, ‘what's going on with me?”

Danny Monge

November is a time to raise awareness on preventing and managing diabetes across the nation, but under it lies an issue of mental health many sufferers are unaware of.  

Diabetics face a higher risk of developing mental health disorders compared to non-diabetics and the Center for Disease Control reports less than half of those diagnosed with depression are treated. According to a study published in the Journal of Medicine and Life, even fewer are diagnosed at all. A local program helps diabetics navigate their emotional health while effectively managing the disease.

Since moving to Riverdale seven years ago, army veteran Danny Monge has devoted his time to giving back to the community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he launched the Riverdale Project, a local group offering support to essential workers and businesses.

Monge’s health journey has been an uphill battle for decades. The 58-year-old is also fighting lung and heart disease, contracted COVID-19 four times, and he once flatlined after a heart attack. 

Faced with a weakened immune system and reduced blood flow, diabetics like Monge are especially prone to chronic foot infections – and it’s left him with three toe amputations. Physical therapy helped manage his balance enough to return to the basketball court.

“I was reffing 20 to 30 games a week and umpiring eight games on Saturdays and Sundays,” he said. “I was an animal.” 

Now, Monge does three games a week.

Since his diabetes diagnosis, he has been hospitalized multiple times, the first in 2007, when he entered the emergency room with a blood glucose level five times higher than the average non-diabetic adult. 

But it was his most recent hospitalization in August that kickstarted a mental health journey – and it all started with a small cut on his toe. 

“I woke up with a burning fever, my foot was swollen, and when I got to the hospital my toe was black,” he said. “The doctor said I had sepsis. Everyone I knew that had sepsis, it didn’t end well. I was freaking out.”

Monge returned home about a week later, sepsis-free, but had another obstacle ahead. The scar tissue in his toe was still healing, making walking nearly impossible for months. Refereeing was out of the question, and he soon found himself crying on his couch for hours.

“I was always one of those macho guys saying, men don’t suffer from mental illness, men don’t get depressed,” Monge said. “[Then] I asked my wife, ‘what’s going on with me?’”

She suggested he see a counselor. Despite his initial apprehensions, he agreed and said, he’s never looked back.

Monge’s story is not uncommon. According to the CDC, diabetics face a 20% greater risk of anxiety compared to non-diabetic adults and are twice as likely to develop depression. Nearly 14% of Bronxites have been diagnosed with diabetes, second to Staten Island’s 14.4%. 

Riverdale Senior Services at 2600 Netherland Ave., put a new spin on some of its chronic disease programs. Like this month’s weekly seminar, Blood Sugar: A Wellness Guide to Prevent and Manage Diabetes, which taught diabetics how to treat their mental well-being alongside their physical health.

“There’s generally more of a focus on improving physical health, but it’s important to recognize that our physical, emotional, and mental health are all interconnected,” Dr. Candice Crawford said, owner of Clarity & Wellness Mental Health Counseling at 3174 Riverdale Ave. 

Surveys at past RSS seminars showed a significant interest in managing emotional health, encouraging RSS to take a holistic approach to its weekly classes with Beyond Blood Sugar – a four-week program running year-round which saw over 40 participants this month. 

Nurse Jennifer Perez, who leads the seminars, finds interactive exercises, like journaling and role-play, the most effective way to help participants manage their mental health. She also works to minimize the stigma around counseling in older adults with the help of RSS social workers, made available through the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

“Chronic stress elevates your blood glucose, and if you’re struggling with mental health, you may not be doing what you need to manage chronic disease effectively,” Perez said. “If we see someone struggling, we’ll approach them and try to get them counseling.”

For 70-year-old participant Maria Diaz, this program has been unlike any other. Since she was diagnosed with diabetes 25 years ago, Diaz has learned practices to manage her physical condition, like keeping a healthy diet and exercising.

She diligently watched over her health, but until she found Beyond Blood Sugar, Diaz neglected to reflect on her emotional well-being and credits RSS with helping send her on a mental health journey that's changed her life.

“These classes and therapy have helped me learn I’m not alone,” she said. “Other people around me are going through the same stuff.”