As someone from the South Asian community, I have seen many of my family, friends, and relatives deal with type 2 diabetes. Through my lived experiences, I have put together a few tips for someone supporting a loved one living with type 2 diabetes.
Tip 1: Participate in healthy habits together
There are many factors that play a role in a person’s ability to engage in healthy habits including where you live, what you have access to, and social and cultural influences. Through experience with my family, we realized (that some healthy behaviors were more fun to do together!
Some examples include:
- Going on walks together after meals for connection, to support blood sugar management, and create a consistent routine.
- Exercising together (going to the gym together, joining fitness classes, home workouts or recreational sports/activities).
- Cooking healthy meals together to promote balanced eating, learning new recipes, and make nutrition enjoyable.
Participating in these activities together can increase accountability, make them more enjoyable, and provide support if any diabetes-related issues arise.
Tip 2: Avoid blame or judgement
There are so many factors (biological, social, lifestyle) that contribute to type 2 diabetes. A respectful, non-judgmental attitude helps people feel supported and understood.
What does this look like?
- Avoid singling someone out and commenting on what they are eating.
- Comments like “you shouldn’t eat that” can feel hurtful or stigmatizing.
- If you hear others making jokes or negative remarks, speak up and challenge it, as small moments like these help reduce stigma.
Tip 3: Offer practical help
Offering practical help can alleviate some of the stress associated with the management of diabetes.
What are some examples of practical help?
- Driving them to appointments, and supporting them through the process.
- Reminding them and asking if they have taken their medications.
- Helping organize medications in a pill organizer to prevent missed doses.
- Cooking meals together.
- Researching foods that support blood sugar management.
- Coming from a family with cultural foods, I helped make healthy substitutions to ingredients when possible, while preserving traditional flavors. By making these switches together, it took the burden off of the individual to do research, and allowed them to enjoy their favorite foods.
- Or keeping traditional recipes when preferred, while supporting blood sugar management through medication adjustments or post-meal walks.
Tip 4: Supporting mental health
On top of managing the physical parts of diabetes, sometimes living with type 2 diabetes can also include burnout, frustration, fear of complications, and feeling judged by others.
To support our loved ones:
- We can listen without interrupting, and validate their feelings.
- Allow space for venting without jumping to solutions and acknowledge that diabetes management is exhausting.
Tip 5 – Celebrate progress, not perfection
Blood sugar levels naturally fluctuate, and progress for type 2 diabetes looks different for everyone.
- Celebrate consistency and small meaningful changes, whether that’s taking medication regularly, exercising, attending appointments, or prioritizing rest.
- Avoid turning diabetes management into a constant performance review or focusing only on outcomes.
- Acknowledge that diabetes is a long-term journey and remind them that their effort is what matters!
Keep in mind diabetes management is highly individual: what works for one person may not work for another. So, it is really important that you always ask the individual what methods and supports they prefer.