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It’s International No Diet Day! No Diet Day promotes and celebrates natural beauty and diversity. People are found in all shapes and sizes and there is no one ideal. It also encourages people to stop dieting for the day and put aside all weight loss plans or food restriction practices and put an end to weight discrimination.
There are lots of ways that we can celebrate No Diet Day. But for me and my family, it will be just another day of eating the way we always do – mostly fresh food, lots of coffee (for the grownups, not the kidlet!) and, in all likelihood, something with some Nutella spread over it at some point of the day.
And I will also be thinking a lot about diabetes-related eating disorders and how common they are amongst people living with diabetes.
I applaud these sorts of awareness campaigns, but the danger is that in the positive messaging, there is still a risk of shaming. No Diet Day is not about shaming people who are thin. When reading up about No Diet Day, I came across a lot of materials that were celebrating ‘real women’ and ‘real bodies’, claiming that real women have curves. This actually doesn’t advance the cause it all. All women are real women. Whatever shape or size you are, if you have a vagina, you’re a woman. Go get that on a t-shirt!
I guess the thing that we can all take away from today is remembering that diets don’t work. That’s the bottom line. Diets Do Not Work. So with that in mind, perhaps we should be aiming for every day to be No Diet Day. I know I certainly do.
In other news, jump over to the Diabetes Victoria blog where today I’ve written the second in a series about the consultation that is underway around the development of the new Australian National Diabetes Strategy. You still have 11 days to complete the online survey and I really urge you to take the time and provide some feedback.
Yesterday, as I sat in the waiting room to see my endo, I couldn’t help but feel that I was walking into a wasted appointment. I had seen her about six weeks earlier and left with promises to myself of being more engaged with my diabetes care. I promised I would have my blood work done. I thought about goals and how I could work to achieve them.
And yet, there I was, waiting to go in and wondering what the hell I had to say to her. There would be no discussion of lab results. I haven’t gone to pathology to have the checks done. There wouldn’t be any pulling out of data for me to show her – I hadn’t been logging anything. I was pretty much in the same state of mind about my diabetes as I had been last time I sat waiting to go in to see her.
I was wasting her time and I felt really bad about it. Not that she would ever tell me that. In fact, not that she would even be thinking that. But it’s how I felt. I have such respect for this endocrinologist, and I felt that in some ways I was actually being disrespectful in showing up so unprepared.
There were no tears yesterday. But there was an honest and open admission from me that I need help. I have tried everything I know to try and pull myself out of the motivation slump I have been in for so long. There are been periods where things seem to be better and I am able to make more of an effort, but they are fleeting and before long, I am back to feeling burnt out.
Let me be clear – I am not completely ignoring my diabetes. I am bolusing insulin at all the appropriate times; I check my blood sugar, albeit nowhere near as much as I know I need to – or that I would like to; I have started seeing my endo again. I eat well. At no time has diabetes completely fallen off the radar. But it certainly has deviated from being as much of a focus as I would like.
It’s not the mechanics of diabetes that is the problem. It is the trouble-shooting and problem solving and thinking about diabetes in a way that makes me feel confident that I am dealing with my health and wellbeing as much as my blood sugars. But I’m not doing that. I’m in a fog of burnout from which I now know I am unable to emerge without some real help.
I can pinpoint the source of the burnout; I can trace its progression; I can see why it happened. I understand all of that. I understand that dealing with the loss of our baby following a miscarriage and all the things that happened around it were often all I could deal with – both at the time and for periods since then too. But even though I have words to explain how this has happened, I don’t have actions to get me out of it.
I’ve tried. I’ve tried everything I could think of – all the techniques that have worked in the past. But I suspect that the combination of grief and the longevity of this burnout have resulted in me simply not being able to fix it alone. I need help.
I also believe that tied up in all of this is the way that I am feeling about my body and its failings. Because I do feel I have failed. Or at least my body failed me – again – when I miscarried. I really did think that I was ‘over’ it and was moving on, but not a day goes by where I don’t, in some way, feel sad and broken about it. I don’t know how to stop feeling this way. Again, I need help.
So, I asked for a referral to someone who can help me work though things – someone to help with strategies. I have been in therapy before; I know that it will help. It’s not a quick fix – I know that too.
I am trying to be all Pollyanna-ish about this and make grand ‘the first step is the hardest’ statements. And I am being positive and saying that it is certainly a step in the right direction. It’s going to take time. It’s going to take effort. Perhaps I am ready for that now. I know I certainly haven’t been to date. But maybe – hopefully – I am now.
I’m back on the bandwagon today. Or back on my high horse. Or back on my soap box. Whatever analogy you want to use, I’m on something. But I’m always on message!
Last week we heard a story of the tragic and just so very sad death of a beautiful little boy with type 1 diabetes. According to media reports, seven year old Aiden Fenton, who had type 1 diabetes, was taken, by his parents, to a hotel in Sydney, where he was denied food and insulin and slapped repeatedly as part of a barbaric treatment meant to cure him of his type 1 diabetes.
This is a tragedy. There is no other word for it.
The theory behind this brutal treatment is that repeatedly slapping the body builds heat, which will allow ‘chi’ to flow which results in toxins to be released. This will, apparently, cure what ails you.
And while this may be the extreme, what we have here is yet another example of ridiculous assertions by people claiming to have an understanding of health and wellbeing. But there is no understanding. There is no science behind these claims. There is no evidence to suggest that they work.
There’s that word again: ‘toxin’. It’s a favourite with many wellness experts and Instagram diet and fitness frauds who seem to have forgotten that the body has a fabulously powerful and clever organ called the liver. They should Google it – they’ll get pictures to go with explanations of the role this organ plays in the body and its connection to ‘toxins’. Pictures like this one:
You’re welcome.
Thankfully, there are others – many others – much smarter and with much better reach than I asking questions and calling out these dangerous cults.
Yesterday, the CSIRO (I think we can pretty much bet they are all about science) tweeted this.
Yes please; I’ll take one in a 10.
Helen Razer wrote a fabulous (and very swear-y) piece a few weeks ago about the stupidity of the paleo movement and other dangerous messages being regularly expounded by equally dangerous idiots wellness experts. You should read it (language warning again in case those sorts of things offend you.) My favourite line is the caption used under a photo of Pete Evans: ‘Stupid is the new science’. Yes – I want that on a t-shirt, too.
And take a few minutes – well ten and a half – and watch the brilliance of Tim Minchin with this fabulous animated short of his poem ‘Storm’.
Minchin first wrote this as a jazz-backed beat poem for a live show. From there, it was the animated short was made and, most recently, a graphic novel which I’ll be purchasing next time I head to my favourite books store, Readings. You can read how the poem came about in this piece Minchin wrote for The Guardian.
Yes, I know. I keep harping on about the same things. But alternative therapies and the ‘wellness movement’ are responsible for a little boy’s death. They fuel eating disorders, they confuse people, they deliberately and intentionally target the vulnerable who are desperate for answers and cures. And there is no evidence to support that they work in any way. In fact, they harm. A little boy is dead. Just keep thinking about that.
Last night, I had the privilege of attending the fifth anniversary celebrations for the Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes. The event was held at my favourite Melbourne building – the State Library – so I was able to get my geek girl on and wander the stacks before heading to the reception.
I have written frequently about the ACBRD because I am a huge fan and supporter of their work. Before the Centre was established, there was very limited attention being given to the psychosocial impacts of living with diabetes. Diabetes was presented as a numbers game. People with diabetes were talking about what living with diabetes actually meant – we understand the day-to-day implications and the distress and the burnout and the fear and the anxiety. But there was no one dedicated to researching these things.
Much work has been completed since the Centre started. All of it is of great value, but there are certainly some stand-out pieces for me:
- The Diabetes Australia Language Position Statement, led by the ACBRD, which was launched back in 2011, is a much-needed ‘guide’ to assist journalists and HCP understand how to speak about and to people with diabetes. I can’t think of the number of times I have emailed, tweeted, handed-out a copy of this report to someone who has referred to PWD as non-compliant, a ‘diabetes sufferer’ or something equally damaging!
- Dr Jessica Browne, Research Fellow, has been leading a world-first program researching the social stigma of diabetes. Reaching far and wide (Washington Post, anyone?) it is so wonderful to have evidence supporting what we have heard from PWD for so long – diabetes is stigmatising and that we often feel blamed and judged for having this condition. I’ve said it a million times and I will continue to say it until the stigma stops – ‘No one asks to get diabetes.’
- The Diabetes MILES report still remains an important body of work. It was the first time that the psychological wellbeing of people with diabetes was investigated and the results confirmed what people living with diabetes already knew – emotional problems associated with living with diabetes are common, considerable and a very real part of living with diabetes.
The thing I love about the Centre is that in addition to conducting research and publishing articles, they actually provide practical tips and advice to HCPs about how to address these issues and concerns. And most pleasingly, they speak directly to and consult with people with diabetes.
As I explained in my talk last night, I have been lucky enough to present alongside Foundation Director Jane Speight on numerous occasions. The way this works is that I get up, rant, rave, wave my hands around and talk about the ‘living with it’ experience and then Jane gets up, speaks incredibly eloquently and provides the evidence to support what I have said. (So, thanks for making me look good, Jane!)
The always eloquent Professor Jane Speight. And me. Waving my arms around.
It was an honour to be able to celebrate the Centre’s first five years’ successes last night. Congratulations to all the ACBRD staff. Looking forward to seeing what you all do next!
Jump over to the Diabetes Victoria blog where today, I have written about how ‘Choosing Wisely Australia’ got diabetes wrong with its diabetes recommendation.
But while you’re here, check out these headlines from the Daily Express. So, so many ways to beat diabetes! Who knew?
If you have anything to do with diabetes and glanced at Twitter this week, it’s unlikely that you could have missed the juggernaut that was #IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes.
Wednesday 22 April was designated the day that the Diabetes Online Community would come together and share what we wish people knew about diabetes. We kicked it off with great force here in Australia and it took off like a runaway train from there! Late on our Wednesday night, I watched the US wake up and Twitter explode with the #IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes hashtag. I had to force myself to turn off my devices and go to sleep because I could quite easily have stayed up all night following.
I was amazed at the diversity of the things people were sharing. I found myself laughing out loud and wiping away tears at some of the things I read, and a lot of the time, nodding in agreement.
Critics of these sorts of activities say that they are a waste of time – that we are preaching to the converted and that it is a self-indulgent pity party. I say that’s rubbish!
Firstly, even if the majority of people who read the tweets are others with diabetes, why is that a bad thing? Building our community – coming together, supporting each other, listening to others’ stories – is how and why we become stronger. I had several people reply to my tweets telling me that they felt the same way. I did the same thing several times.
And there is absolutely nothing wrong with fist pumping and patting ourselves on the back for living with diabetes. Or saying it is tough. Diabetes does suck sometimes; it is difficult to live with; it is a shit. Acknowledging that doesn’t make us weak or pathetic. It doesn’t mean that we have given up or that we think that we have it worse than anyone else in the world. It is just saying how we feel.
I didn’t read all the #IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes tweets (there are over six and a half thousand of them!) but I did read a lot of them. I read tweets from people I know well and those I’ve never come across. I connected with new people and retweeted and retweeted and retweeted until I thought I was going to be sent to Twitter purgatory for a while and told to settle down!
Well done to Kelly Kunik who kicked this off last week. I don’t know that Kelly has had much sleep over the last few days. She seemed to be tweeting and retweeting pretty much around the clock! Kelly is a bit of a force of nature. I caught up with her and another DOC friend, Stacey, when I was in NY and the three of us spoke so much we forgot to eat. Seriously. We remembered to drink coffee, but somehow we didn’t remember to order lunch! Hope you’re getting some rest now, Kelly!
I couldn’t even begin to say what my favourite tweets were. Perhaps the ones that focussed on advocacy issues and dispelling myths. But every single one did resonate in some way – even if the experience was not the same as mine. I feel that I have a better insight into how diabetes affects people’s lives. I hope – and am sure – that others have walked away feeling the same way.
(To see the reach of the #IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes hashtag, click on this link. At the time this blog was published, it was up to almost 14,000,000 impressions.)
We added another SHAG print to our collection the other night after attending an exhibition opening at the fabulous Outré Gallery. We now have two huge artist proofs that are based on the fabulous Peter Seller’s film The Party. Dance your way into the weekend with the soundtrack here!
Go away. There is nothing to see here today.
Instead, enter #IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes into your search engine and spend the day reading about the things we all want everyone to know about diabetes.
This is the initiative of Kelly Kunik from Diabetesaliciousness. But don’t read her blog today either. You can do that tomorrow.
Today it’s all about this hashtag: #IWishPeopleKnewThatDiabetes
Go!
I could never ever work in advertising. A combination of cynicism and disbelief at anything I ever see in an ad would make me a difficult employee!
There is a very real gap between the truth of diabetes and what we see in advertisements for diabetes products. I frequently find myself shaking my head in disbelief at the way diabetes is portrayed.
This is what a stomach using an insulin pump looks like. That is my stomach (apologies if you are eating, drinking or just looking). Those dots are the ghosts of infusion sets past in various stages of healing. There is also probably some tape residue stubbornly stuck to my skin. Pretty (gross), isn’t it?
#NoFilter. Obviously
This is what a stomach in a pump ad looks like. Magically, any hint of previous infusion sites have disappeared.
This morning, here is what my meter announced my BGL to be. (Hashtag: fuckoff)
This is what the reading on pretty much every box and poster of BGL meters looks like. (Hashtag: bullshit)
CGM graphs in real life look like the trajectory of rollercoasters with mountainous highs and cavernous lows, while the slick promotional materials show straight lines, nicely fitting in between the upper and lower alarm limits.
People in advertisements for diabetes paraphernalia are always outdoors, happy and rolling down hills, big smiles plastered on their faces. They wake up looking well-rested.
Real people with diabetes may spend time smiling and happy (I love rolling down hills – especially at this time of the year and getting all covered in Autumn leaves), but I’m putting it out there and saying that their glee is not because they have just done a BGL check. Unless the result is 5.5mmol/l. Each and every time. (See about meter photo. There was no smiling at that!)
I get it. No one wants to see my stomach on an ad for insulin pump therapy – that’s not selling units of product! But surely there needs to be a middle ground somewhere. I would like there to be an occasional BGL reading of over 15mmol/l on a poster for a meter. Because it happens. It’s not the end of the world and it doesn’t mean the meter is crap. And a stomach with a few pock marks from old infusion sets doesn’t reflect the quality of the infusion set. It reflects reality.
Diabetes isn’t pretty. It’s an ugly, scary and pretty un-fun thing to live with a lot of the time. That doesn’t mean that I spend most of my time in a ‘pity me’ funk, but I do admit – quite honestly – that it is shit at times. How about we aim for a bit of honesty and truth in diabetes advertising? Telling it like it is doesn’t mean we are weak or showing defeat. It’s just being authentic.
Diabetogenic 