Overwhelmed until Good Moves
A is a 60+ Bangladeshi female with a range of conditions including diabetes, arthritis, high blood pressure and coronary heart disease. She was diagnosed with diabetes and arthritis in her in her late 40s, but from her diagnosis onwards she felt ‘very overwhelmed’ and unable to cope. When visiting her GP and the Diabetes Clinic over the next few years, she found that the doctors dealing with her case did not clearly inform her of how to manage her condition, often leaving her confused and misinformed. This, coupled with her responsibilities towards her many friends and family, meant her visits to the hospital become less and less frequent and her interest in and ability to manage her condition dwindled significantly. She expressed that she felt quite neglected during the early diagnosis process.
It was the concern and persistence of her close friends and family which mean that A felt able to visit the doctor more recently to try again to discuss how to manage her condition. She was advised to live a more healthy lifestyle in terms of exercise and diet. However she found that the old issue of miscommunication between the GP clinic and the diabetes centre still remained, resulting in inconsistent messaging which confused her further. She did not feel she understood the advice she was given and how to implement it. She also felt she wasn’t thoroughly informed of the risks associated with her conditions such as loss of vision and heart disease. She still felt frightened, frustrated, and overwhelmed.
A heard about Good Moves after a call from her GP surgery and enjoyed it from the very first session. She described the information she received as ‘much more relevant and accessible for my condition’. She found she was starting to implement behavioural changes from the first week, particularly using the action plan element to incrementally build healthy habits including drinking more water, eating more fruit, and exercising regularly. Over the duration of the course she began to reflect on how self-management affected not only herself as an individual but also her role within the community:
‘Coming to the sessions motivated me to wake up much earlier than I used to, walk to the course and stay active throughout the day’
‘They taught me many things like being more disciplined with my eating, sleep and exercise – even positive thinking – and the impact my choices have on people around me’
A could see the improvements in her health and life as each week passed which motivated her to complete the course. At the end of the eight weeks A felt that Good Moves taught her how to manage her condition more ‘consistently and confidently’.