Diabetes is a chronic disease that affects millions of people worldwide, yet many who are affected experience diabetes stigma in their daily lives. The impact of diabetes stigma extends beyond physical health, affecting mental wellbeing, self-care, and overall quality of life. Whether you live with diabetes, care for someone affected by diabetes, or want to become an ally in diabetes advocacy, you have the power to make a difference by pledging to end diabetes stigma.
What is Diabetes?
Diabetes is a chronic disease characterised by high blood glucose levels due to problems with the body’s insulin, a hormone which helps process glucose. This can either be because your body can’t produce enough insulin, or because your body resists the insulin it does produce (known as insulin resistance), causing the pancreas to go into overdrive to produce more. There are two different types of diabetes: type 1 and type 2 diabetes.
This means glucose stays trapped in your bloodstream instead of being converted into energy for your body, leading to immediate health problems like excessive thirst, frequent urination, fatigue, blurred vision, difficulty concentrating, shakiness, confusion, dizziness, and loss of consciousness. Over a longer term, this can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney failure, vision loss, nerve damage, and lower limb amputations.
Type 1 Diabetes
Type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune condition where the body’s immune system mistakenly attacks and destroys insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. People with type 1 diabetes must take insulin daily using syringes, insulin pens, or pumps to survive as it can be fatal if untreated.
This type of diabetes typically develops in children and young adults, though it can occur at any age, and accounts for about 10 to 15 per cent of all diabetes cases. The exact cause remains unknown, but scientists believe it develops when someone with a genetic predisposition encounters a trigger, such as a virus, which activates their immune system, causing it to inadvertently attack the insulin-producing cells. This autoimmune process can take months or years before symptoms appear. There is currently no cure for type 1 diabetes, and it cannot be prevented.
Type 2 Diabetes
Type 2 diabetes is the most common form of diabetes, accounting for approximately 85 to 90 per cent of all diabetes cases. It can be caused either by low insulin production or insulin resistance, and the progression from insulin resistance to prediabetes to type 2 diabetes can take 10 to 15 years. The consequences of leaving type 2 diabetes untreated are the same as for type 1, including being potentially fatal.
Type 2 diabetes mellitus often develops in adults, though increasing numbers of younger people are being diagnosed. Factors causing type 2 diabetes include excess body fat, particularly around the belly, and physical inactivity are significant risk factors, but a genetic predisposition plays a major role as well. Your chances of developing it also increase over the age of 45. Not everyone who is overweight develops type 2 diabetes, and some people with type 2 diabetes are not overweight.
The good news is that type 2 is more easily treated. Lifestyle modifications like healthy dietary changes and exercises can be enough for diabetes self-management, and can even send it into remission. Insulin medications and injections are also used as treatments.
Gestational Diabetes
Gestational diabetes develops during pregnancy when hormonal changes affect how the body processes glucose. The symptoms are the same as other types, but usually milder, but leaving it untreated has other impacts. Specifically, gestational diabetes is more like to affect the baby’s size or lead to a preterm delivery or stillbirth. However, it can affect the mother through organ damage and an increased risk of developing diabetes later in life.
The condition typically resolves itself after childbirth, but still requires management through diet, exercise, and insulin medications.
What is Diabetes Stigma?
Diabetes stigma refers to the negative attitudes, beliefs, and discrimination that people living with diabetes face due to their condition. People experience stigma when it manifests around myths that diabetes is caused only by weight problems, dietary choices, and a lack of self-control.
Diabetes stigma is associated with this belief that diabetes is a character flaw and self-inflected is harmful in its own ways. Studies have shown that diabetes-related stigma can cause not only psychological stress and mental health problems, but the stigma may also exacerbate the health problems directly caused due to diabetes.
Diabetes Myths and Facts
Myth: Diabetes is caused by eating too much sugar. Fact: While it CAN play a role, diet, and especially sugar, are not sole causes. Genetics and lifestyle factor are other contributors.
Myth: People with diabetes cannot eat sugar. Fact: People living with diabetes can include sugar in their diet when balanced with proper medication, and physical activity. Healthy eating does not mean the complete elimination of sugar.
Myth: Only overweight people develop type 2 diabetes. Fact: While weight is a risk factor, many people with type 2 diabetes are not overweight.
Myth: Diabetes is not serious. Fact: Diabetes is a serious chronic disease that can lead to heart disease, stroke, kidney disease, and death.
Myth: People with diabetes are to blame for their own choices. Fact: Diabetes develops due to multiple factors beyond people’s control, such as genetics.
How Can I Support People With Diabetes?
People affected by diabetes require understanding, empathy, and active efforts to combat diabetes stigma and discrimination. The relationship between stigma and psychological distress among individuals with diabetes means that social support plays a crucial role in mental health and diabetes outcomes. Here are evidence-based ways to support people living with diabetes:
Help With Diabetes Management
Don’t comment on food choices. People living with diabetes can eat a wide variety of foods. Scrutinising their meal choices contributes to the blame and shame many people with diabetes experience.
Ask how to help during diabetes emergencies. People with diabetes can appreciate when others take interest in learning how to recognise and respond to diabetic emergencies. A first aid training course can teach you this among many other life-saving skills.
Challenge diabetes stigma. When you hear misconceptions about diabetes being self-inflicted or comments that perpetuate the stigma surrounding type 2 diabetes, speak up. Advocacy helps reduce diabetes stigma in your community.
Support workplace accommodations. Adults with diabetes may need reasonable accommodations to manage their condition at work. These include schedule flexibility for medical appointments, time to check their blood glucose levels, or access to food to manage low blood sugar.
Community. Those with social support networks report better diabetes self-care behaviours. Community health initiatives connect individuals with diabetes to peer support, education programs, and advocacy opportunities, and helps reduces feelings of isolation. It can also be as easy as having family members and friends accompany diabetic people to medical appointments,
National Diabetes Week
National Diabetes Week is an annual public health awareness week held in Australia during July, focusing on raising invisible illness awareness and supporting people living with the condition. This national health awareness campaign provides an opportunity for communities across Australia to learn about diabetes, challenge misconceptions, and pledge to end diabetes stigma. Participation in National Diabetes Week can take many forms, from attending educational events to sharing information on social media using campaign hashtags.
Pledge to End Diabetes Stigma
The relationship between diabetes stigma and diabetes must be broken. Pledging to end diabetes stigma represents a commitment to challenging misconceptions, supporting people living with diabetes, and advocating for changes that end health discrimination among people with diabetes.
An end to diabetes stigma requires collective action. Whether you live with diabetes yourself, care for someone with diabetes, or simply want to be a better ally, you have a role to play in reducing stigma among people affected by this chronic disease. Together, we can create an Australia where every person living with diabetes receives the support, compassion, and respect they deserve.
FAQs
Am I At Risk Of Diabetes?
Early signs of diabetes may include increased thirst, frequent urination, unexplained weight loss, fatigue, blurred vision, slow-healing wounds, and frequent infections. If you experience these symptoms or have risk factors for diabetes, consult your GP for assessment.
What Resources Are Available for People With Diabetes in Australia?
The National Diabetes Services Scheme (NDSS) provides access to subsidised diabetes products, education, and support. Healthcare providers, including GPs, endocrinologists, diabetes educators, and dietitians, form your diabetes care team. You can also find chronic disease support networks by searching online. International resources such as the International Diabetes Federation provide global perspectives on diabetes care and advocacy.
What Should I Do If Someone Has A Diabetic Emergency?
A diabetic emergency can be identified by confusion, loss of consciousness, or seizures. If they are conscious and able to swallow, give them around 15 grams of fast-acting carbohydrates like glucose tablets or juice. If they are unconscious, call 000 immediately and do not give them any food or drink.
