Video: Cherise
Contributor: Cherise; @SweeterCherise/@DiabetesSocMed
Connection: Adult with LADA/type 1 diabetes
Quote: “No matter what anyone says; no matter what a number may read: you are better than diabetes. Do not let diabetes steal your joy.”
Archive for the ‘Importance of Community’ Category
“We Can Do This”: Vol. 2
(For those who live with anxiety, even talking or reading about anxiety can be a trigger, so please proceed with caution before watching the video below.)
You may remember the “We Can Do This” video from this past April, in which five people who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes as adults shared their diagnosis stories, lessons learned and advice for others who may be going through the same thing.
Keeping in line with that format, Vol. 2 gives a glimpse into the life of people who live with both anxiety and diabetes (or care for someone with diabetes). People already living with diabetes are about 20 percent more likely than those without diabetes to have an anxiety condition at some point in their lifetime, and it’s a topic that many are uncomfortable talking about.
And because the You Can Do This Project centers around the idea of opening up about the tough stuff – that’s exactly what Kate, Alexis, and Hallie did.
To connect with others with diabetes and anxiety, check out the new community “Anxious You Anxious Me” on Facebook and Twitter. You may also email Alexis directly at Anxietyyouanxietyme@gmail.com.
Blog: Colleen
Contributor: Colleen; http://dmeanderings.wordpress.com
Connection: Person with type 1/LADA diabetes
Blog post: http://dmeanderings.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/you-can-do-this/
“Finding out you have Type 1 (LADA) Diabetes at the [...] age of 54 (one month before the 55th b’day) really, really stunk. Yes, I cried. Then I cried again at the grocery store trying to read those teeny, tiny nutrition labels. Then I cried again when I tried to eat some awful, cardboardy, “low carb” bread.
It’s been one hell of a struggle. It’s been a whole lot of learning.
But I am doing this because I can do this.
And yes, I still cry sometimes, just not as often…”
Video: Haley
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Contributor: Haley; www.naturallysweett.com
Connection: Teen with type 1 diabetes
Quote: “The hardest part is the emotional pain. Other people don’t know how it feels to be different. People make comments all the time. I feel labeled as ‘the diabetic girl’. I just want to be Haley.”
Video: Kerri
Contributor: Kerri; www.sixuntilme.com
Connection: Person with type 1 diabetes
Standout Quote: “We can do this; I know that we can. We can master this monster; we can draft up a plan. Or just fumble through days we’re unsure how to weather; the point is – we’re in this, and we’re in this together.”
Video: Vic
Contributor: Vic Kinnunen; insulindependence.org
Connection: Adult with type 1 diabetes
Quote: “For about 30 years, I lived in a situation where I really didn’t know any other diabetics. I didn’t want to know any other diabetics, or acknowledge the fact that I had diabetes. But, in the last five years I’ve found that there’s a huge community of diabetics, and it’s a resource that you can definitely leverage.”
Video: Josh Bliel
Contributor: Josh Bliel; community spokesperson for the Indianapolis Colts
Connection: No known personal connection to diabetes; Iraq war veteran with double leg amputation.
Quote: “It was a big realization for me that other people deal with things too, and it’s normal. It’s okay to feel angry.”
Video: Andy
Contributor: Andy; @ABellT1D
Connection: Adult with type 1 diabetes
Quote: “Type 1 diabetes is going to knock you down from time to time, [...] but despite all of that, you’ve got to continue to pick yourself up.”
