I am no expert in Type 1 Diabetes but I have been keeping my head above water with it for 845 days. My daughter seems to manage okay and my family still enjoy spending time together. Not bad when juggling 2 teenagers, 2 dogs, Type 1 Diabetes plus whatever life decides to throw at us.
Today though, I feel like there is so much noise around T1D. The noise gets so loud sometimes that I mistakenly draw a comparison between how we are managing and how others are doing it. Not a great way to do things given Type 1 is individual. It takes abit of effort for me to block this out and truly stay focused on our own path. I am told regularly by others living with Type 1 that it’s not about the numbers (not sure how it isn’t), how important language is (for me, this is true), complications (agree this needs to be talked about) what we should focus on and the best food to consume. We are shown graphs, tables, amounts, levels, pumps, images, studies and given opinions.
So much noise. I understand that all of these things are important for Type 1 management and I for one, researched and gathered until I felt like I had what I needed. Now I am further down the path, I have discovered that this noise can be relentless and make me feel like I am not doing enough. It is worth mentioning at this point and given there are always 2 sides, so much support and love hearts are given when needed. The Type 1 Community is awesome and it really makes life easier when someone else ‘gets it’.
There are so many parts that make up a whole life – one of ours just happens to be Type 1 Diabetes. We are in a fortunate position to have a platform to support others and we need to ensure that we are mindful of how our messages are being delivered – I understand the intentions are good however the challenge for us is ensuring they are not lost in social media translation.