New Delhi, Sept. 10 -- Diabetes is usually discussed in terms of numbers: fasting glucose, HbA1c and insulin units. What rarely makes it into that conversation is how exhausting the disease can be to simply live with, day after day, especially for women. Behind the glucose checks, the medicine reminders, the careful meal planning and the endless appointments lie a mental burden that often goes unnoticed, even by the women carrying it.

Dr Durva Dharmesh Shah, a psychiatrist, has observed this pattern closely in her practice. "The constant vigilance diabetes demands can wear a person down over time, and that chronic stress does not simply sit in the background, it actively disrupts sleep, eating patterns, physical activity and even how the...