Calling All Allies: How to Support Someone Living with Type 1 Diabetes

Many people know someone with diabetes, whether a friend, family member, or loved one, but aren’t sure how best to support them. As a Next Gen Fellow at the Diabetes Link, I attended the ADA conference last year, and connected with individuals living with type 1 diabetes, which led me to reflect on how I could better support my friends. To explore this, I surveyed people living with diabetes and co-developed the following list. 

Tip 1: Acts of Service

Acts of service can make a big difference. This could look like cooking a meal, running an errand, or keeping fast-acting sugar nearby when you’re together. Small gestures like these can give someone a break from the constant work of managing diabetes. Alex Blackburn, a young adult with T1D, mentioned that he appreciates friends “carrying fast-acting sugar for me for those times that I forgot to pack it myself.”

 What else could this actually look like in practice? 

• Packing juice, fruit snacks, glucose tabs, or another low blood sugar treatment (without being asked)
• Cook a meal, and let them know what time you expect it to be ready so that they can prebolus if needed. 
• When out to eat, ask the server if they have nutrition information available.
• Remember, little things make a big difference: wash the dishes, pick the spot for dinner, offer to make the plans. Diabetes takes up a lot of brain space, so one less thing to think about (whether it’s related to diabetes or not) helps lighten the mental load.

Tip 2: Break the stigma – stand up for people with diabetes 

Standing up for people with diabetes helps create a world where people are understood, respected, feel safe and reduces stigma. Lily Gordon, a young adult with T1D, appreciates people “standing up for me when I can’t or when I am not around.”

What does calling people in look like?

• When you hear someone make an ignorant joke, don’t just let it slide. Call them in to acknowledge any harm or misinformation. 
• If certain rules at school or in the workplace unintentionally make diabetes management harder, consider raising these concerns with management and working together to identify solutions. 

Tip 3 – Ask, listen and respect boundaries:

Act with respect, empathy, and without judgment when learning from your loved one with diabetes- instead of making assumptions. Blaming the individual for having diabetes or questioning their choices in a critical way can build stigma and prevent people with diabetes from sharing their story.

Thoughtful questions to ask might include: 

• What does it feel like when your blood sugar is low/high? 
• I noticed that you are wearing a device on your arm, would you be open to sharing more about that with me? I’d love to learn.
• Are there situations where support from others is helpful? 
• If your blood sugar goes low, how can I best support you? 
• Would it be helpful to plan meals or snacks together sometime? 

Although you may have their best interest as a friend, family or loved one, hovering over or micromanaging a person can cause added stress. The best way to support is based on what they want. 

Tip 4 – Educate yourself on diabetes to support your loved ones

Educating yourself about diabetes is not only a good way to be an ally, but it also helps prevent the spread of stigma and misconceptions. For example, common myths include thinking people with diabetes can never have sugar, or believing that someone’s actions caused their type 1 diabetes. Doing the research yourself can also reduce the burden of the person to teach and explain everything to you. 

Here are some places to start:

• Follow diabetes pages on social media (e.g. @thediabeteslink!). You can get education there, and even send memes to connect with your friends.
• Educating yourself about topics such as blood glucose monitoring and recognizing what a diabetes emergency looks like can help you become more informed and better able to support your loved ones. 
• Learn to recognize signs of low or high blood sugar so you can respond appropriately 
• Stay open to learning, as diabetes management and technologies can change over time