Key skills for healthy coping are:
- Problem-solving and goal setting skills: Finding a problem and challenges, thinking of alternatives for dealing with them, testing those alternatives, assessing results and selecting best solution.
- Social skills: including how to express one's feelings and choices effectively. A diabetic patient can speak to friends and express feelings or be a part of self help group and find a solution to a problem.
- Cognitive skills: in order to avoid "making mountains out of molehills". Patient should learn skills of not making issue of a small problem. If a patient's diet is to be modified, the patient or the family members should not make it an issue. Rather, they should try to modify diet within the family meal pattern and resources.
- Stress management skills: like relaxation and meditation. If a patient is alone and keeps thinking about diabetes and changes in his life and stops taking treatment, it will cause stress and blood sugar level will not be controlled. On the other hand, the patient should do meditation and relax and find out the solution for the problem, accept the disease and continue treatment as advised by the doctor.