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The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.
Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes.
Learn more at BlueCircleHealth.org
Living with type one diabetes is already
a lot decisions, numbers, alarms, and the
constant effort to stay one step ahead.
But for so many people, there's also
something else layered on top of all that.
That's the judgment assumptions,
the feeling that if something's
off, it must be your fault.
And that experience actually has a name,
it's called diabetes stigma, and it
doesn't just affect how people are seen.
It can also shape how they feel
about themselves, how they show up
in healthcare, and how they carry
the day-to-day weight of diabetes.
My name is Scott Johnson, and
today I'm joined by Matthew Garza
from diaTribe and dStigmatize.
We're talking about what diabetes stigma
really is, why it matters, and what it
might take to start changing the story.
Before we continue, I do need to
remind you that we're not providing
medical advice or endorsing
any specific product brands.
We'll always encourage you to
consult your healthcare teams
for personalized guidance.
I'm excited to welcome Matthew
Garza to the show today.
Matthew is the director of dStigmatize
at diaTribe, where he is been
leading efforts to better understand
and address diabetes stigma.
Matthew, thank you so
much for joining me today.
I'm really looking forward
to this conversation.
Yeah, of course.
Thank you for having me, Scott.
I'm excited to be here.
I'd love to start with a little
bit more about you and your work.
Can you tell us a little about your
role at diaTribe and what led you to
focus specifically on diabetes stigma?
Yeah, definitely.
so like you said, I currently serve
as the director of our dStigmatized
program, which is focused on raising
awareness around diabetes stigma and
looking at efforts to address it.
Before I started working in this role,
I actually was the managing editor
of diaTribes Educational Resource
and our newsletter diaTribe Learn.
So while I was there, I was helping
to craft all of the different
articles that many people might
see that cover everything from the
latest news in the diabetes fields
to recipes and personal stories.
But at the same time that I was
running that area of diaTribes work.
We had this little side project going
on that was trying to understand some
of the bigger systematic problems in
the diabetes field, and one of the areas
that we really started to hone in on was
this issue of diabetes stigma, because
we saw that it was basically creating
barriers to progress in a number of
different areas, whether that was in,
innovations in tech and medications,
or whether that was in research
funding or maybe nutrition guidance.
And as we started to dig into what
diabetes stigma was more and more,
we realized that it was something
that wasn't going away anytime soon.
And we really needed more efforts,
more collective efforts, addressing
and focusing on diabetes stigma,
if we ever wanted to see the
benefits of all of the other kind
of really incredible innovations
going on in the diabetes field.
So what we decided to do at diaTribe
is create a program around that.
and back in 2022, I got the,
a wonderful privilege of being
able to help launch that program.
and ever since then I've had the joy
of getting to work on this issue.
At diaTribe,
we could not ask for a better
person to run those efforts.
So I'm so thankful, for someone who
maybe is hearing that phrase or term
diabetes stigma for the first time.
How do you define it in
everyday plain language?
It's funny.
Diabetes stigma is everywhere, and as
soon as you start to notice it, you see
just how insidious it is, how deeply
embedded it is in so many different areas.
And the reason is because diabetes
stigma is going to refer to any of those
moments where people are being blamed.
Maybe they experience
shame, judgment from others.
It might be hurtful comments or bullying.
and whenever it is elevated to the
level of discrimination, maybe a
person with diabetes isn't able to do
something or have access to something.
Sure.
that can lead to discrimination as well.
Diabetes discrimination.
And so we see that diabetes stigma
really shows up in a lot of different
areas and it's sometimes those
feelings that you can't quite put a
word to, it's that idea that, did I
cause this or am I at fault for this?
And the reality and the more that we learn
about diabetes stigma is that no, it is
no one's fault that they got diabetes.
Even though our culture and some of
the messages that we're exposed to
seem to tell us that maybe it is.
What surprised you most about how maybe
common or impactful stigma actually is?
Stigma is so deeply embedded into just
our culture and the way that we think that
it's hard to sometimes disentangle it.
And I think that was what was so shocking.
It was, this idea that maybe when
you're first exposed to a concept like
diabetes stigma, you tend to think,
oh, is this just, some mean jokes that
somebody makes and we should just brush
it off and move on with our lives.
But it has a lot more impact
than sometimes we think, and
I use this example often.
Which was back in 2017.
So a few years ago, there was
the manager of, I think it was
like the Office of Management
and Budget in the US government.
His name was, Mick Mulvaney, and he
made this comment that was essentially
trying to justify healthcare
spending and what we put spending
on from the government perspective.
And it said, we shouldn't be wasting
our money on that person who sits on a
couch, eats junk food and gets diabetes.
And when you think about someone who is
at the top echelons of our government,
who is making decisions on what we spend
money on, what we spend, healthcare
spending on research spending, what we're
investing in when it comes to medicine
and research and all of these things.
Someone who has that mindset
about an entire population of
people living with a chronic
condition that was not their fault.
Yeah.
You can just see how, this idea
of diabetes stigma then impacts
all of these major decisions that
can affect millions of people.
And I think that's sometimes where we
have to ground ourselves as, it's not
just a mean comment at a dinner table.
It is how governments, how.
Research institutions, how people
who have power are making decisions
about diabetes care long term.
That's a really striking example.
I, think when I think about
diabetes stigma, I often think about
examples of a bad joke on social
media or maybe a misconception on
a TV show or something like that.
But that example that you shared is, I
could see how that has huge, impacts.
And it's not to negate any of the times
that may be a hurtful comment or a
joke made someone feel uncomfortable.
But I think it just goes to show
that diabetes stigma isn't just
that it's so much bigger than that.
Yeah.
As you've listened to many people
living with diabetes, where do
you see stigma showing up most
often in their day-to-day lives?
Stigma shows up in a
ton of different areas.
I think one of the most common places
that we see people talk about experiencing
stigma is within the healthcare space.
So maybe that is going to a doctor's
appointment and feeling really
judged by their physician, maybe.
They, breeze over asking
questions and they just jump
right into, your numbers are bad.
We have to get you to stop eating
as much, or, these glucose levels,
your A1C is really awful this
time, and what are you doing wrong?
As soon as a doctor says that, or
maybe it's even a support staff, it's
a receptionist or a nurse that you're
talking to, as soon as they say something
like that and they don't take the time to.
Really ask questions and
get to know a person.
It can feel really dismissive
and make people wanna disengage.
healthcare is by no means.
The only area where this shows up
though, and, I wanna give a lot of
credit to the doctors, the nurses, and
everyone who is doing really amazing
work to not contribute to stigma.
But we also see that diabetes stigma
shows up in interpersonal conversations
among friends, families, coworkers.
We see it show up in the media and how
diabetes is portrayed, which is often
very inaccurate or really stigmatizing
in the types of person that is supposed
to look like they have diabetes.
Yeah, and especially when we think about
like discrimination and how diabetes
stigma and discrimination are related,
we really can sometimes see this in like
work policies or education policies.
Where maybe a child isn't allowed to
do something that other kids are able
to do because they have diabetes.
Or a person is asked, you need to inject
insulin in a bathroom because we don't
want you doing that during a meeting.
Those sorts of things are one, not okay.
and not allowed.
And two.
Make people feel like diabetes is
something they have to hide, and
that's not anything that anyone
should ever feel like they have to do.
We've talked a little bit
about where stigma shows up
in the world around people.
I'd love to spend a few minutes talking
about what that actually I. Does to
someone living with diabetes when,
they're exposed to this kind of stigma
over time, how does it start to affect
the way that they maybe see themselves?
So the research on diabetes stigma is a
growing field, and I have to give so much
kudos to all of the amazing researchers
around the world who have been really
trying to better our understanding
around what diabetes stigma looks
like and how it's impacting people.
The reality though is measuring stigma
can be a bit tricky and measuring
its impacts can be a bit tricky.
So bef, I just wanna preface all of what
I'm about to say with the note that.
We can't be positive yet that
experiencing stigma causes these effects.
Sure.
But what we can be sure of is seeing that
these things are happening in tandem.
They're happening at the same time.
So we're able to at least see this
association between stigma and a
lot of these really negative mental,
physical, and behavioral impacts.
So a couple of things that
I always draw attention to.
On the mental side, we see that it impacts
people's self-efficacy, their ability to,
take care of their diabetes and manage it.
We a see it affects their self-esteem,
their diabetes distress levels,
whether or not they may be experiencing
depression or anxiety or elevated stress.
and it can really impact people's
resilience, their ability to deal with
the challenges of managing a chronic
condition that demands so much of
each individual who lives with it.
But it's not just mental health.
That diabetes stigma is impacting it.
It can also impact
people's physical health.
So we see that when someone, reports
experiencing higher levels of stigma,
they often have a higher A1C, maybe
they have a higher BMI or body weight.
they may also have, or be more likely
at risk for certain complications.
We've started to see that in some of
the things like eye complications.
and, DKA episodes and
things like that as well.
And then finally, and I know that this
will probably be something that we talk
a little bit more about, but it can
impact our health behaviors and the
way that we move through the world.
and so it's not just, the direct
measurements, but it can be
what are we doing to take care
of ourselves long term as well?
Yeah, that, that's a great, I'd like to
dig in on that point a little bit more
when I hear you talk about that last part.
It makes me think that there's some
connections to, with stigma connected to
things like shame, guilt, or burnout that
people with diabetes often talk about.
Can you tell me a little more about that?
It's really interesting.
One, one of the easiest ways that
we see this is how it impacts people
within the healthcare space and
how they interact with healthcare.
So what we see is that if somebody,
for example, goes to their doctor.
And they have a really negative or
stigmatizing experience, the reality
is that they're likely gonna go
home and feel like they don't wanna
go back to that doctor anymore.
Yeah.
And maybe they, decide to cancel
their next appointment because
they're scared of being judged.
It might prevent them from getting
screened for a certain complication
because they're nervous that, it's
gonna be a result that I don't want.
And then my doctor is just going to
say that I didn't try hard enough.
And so we see how this can create
this compounding effect, and
the really sad part of that is
that it creates a loop as well.
So when someone maybe starts to
disengage with the healthcare system,
or maybe they're not doing as many
of their self-management behaviors,
that can often then reinforce the
exact things that led to those
experiences of shame and judgment.
They might see their A1C or their
numbers start to creep up, and then
the doctor is just going to say
all over again, what did you do?
Why is this not right?
what aren't you doing?
And so I think that it's something that we
really need to start breaking that cycle.
And it goes to all of us.
It's about building resilience
so that way you're not maybe
as affected by stigmatizing
experiences on the personal side.
And it also means talking to
these healthcare professionals
or those individuals.
Who are causing stigma and
making sure that we nip that
in the butt as soon as we can.
For someone who's listening and
they're maybe realizing, boy, I've
been carrying some of this around.
What would you want them to
understand about that experience?
I think the biggest thing, and the
thing that I want to drive home
more than anything else is just
that diabetes is not your fault.
Nobody chooses to have diabetes.
This is a really complicated and
serious chronic condition that affects
people, of all different, body sizes,
classes, races, where they come from.
It's not something that, you can just,
Make the easy analogy that you ate
too much or you ate the wrong things
and now this is what you deserve.
Yeah.
Whether that's type one diabetes, type
two diabetes, or anything in between.
And so I really just wanna make sure
that for the diabetes community,
everyone understands that.
This isn't your fault.
You are not to blame,
and this is really hard.
So celebrate those wins.
Make sure that one misstep or one bad
number does not define you as a person and
you're so much more than your diabetes,
and I really hope that is something
that you know, we can start spreading
even beyond the diabetes community.
This goes to everyone who's
experiencing chronic health conditions.
Or health stigma in any form.
and we really just gotta break this
idea that health is solely your personal
responsibility because there's so many
factors that are outside of any of our
control that impact our health outcomes.
Very well said, and we deserve to be
able to take good care of ourselves.
Yeah, absolutely.
All right.
This is a, great place
to take a quick break.
When we come back, I wanna shift
towards what we can actually do
about this, because I think a lot
of people listening are probably
starting to wonder, okay, how do we.
Start changing the conversation
around diabetes in real life.
Before we dive back in, I wanna
share one simple example of what
taking action on this can look like.
And to be clear, this is not an
ad. There's no sponsorship here.
Just another great coalition
working on this topic.
Matthew's work with Destigmatize
is part of a much larger global
movement to end diabetes stigma,
and one of the ways that movement
is showing up right now is through
the End Diabetes Stigma Initiative.
One of the easiest ways to get involved
is by adding your name to the pledge.
It takes less than a minute, and
it's a way of saying, we are choosing
more respectful, accurate, and
compassionate language around diabetes.
You can find it@enddiabetesstigma.org.
Again, that's end diabetes stigma.org.
Just look for the endorse
as an individual section.
And as we get back to the episode,
we're gonna hear more about an exciting
global summit that just happened, and
talk more about what ending diabetes
stigma can look like in everyday life.
Welcome back.
We've been talking about what diabetes
stigma is, where it shows up, and
how it can affect people over time.
For someone living with diabetes,
what are maybe some of the
small ways they can start?
Pushing back against
stigma in their own life.
I think there's a number of things that
people who are living with diabetes may
be experiencing some self-stigma or maybe
they've had stigmatizing experiences,
in their life, things that they can do.
So the first thing that I
would say, I have three ideas
that I like to share here.
The first one is finding those allies,
whether that is other people in the
diabetes community who just help you
feel heard and seen and empowered.
Maybe it's finding friends or a really
great endocrinologist who has your
back, who understands your experiences
and who makes you feel heard.
or maybe it's even just like finding
something that makes you feel good
or sharing your diabetes experience
with somebody else for the first time.
When you find those allies, that helps
it feel a lot less lonely and a lot
less isolating because the reality is
you are not the only person who maybe
is experiencing some of these feelings.
The next thing I like to say is, stand
confident in your lived expertise.
We hear this word lived
experience all the time.
How important it is for us to share
our stories, how important it is
to have those personal experiences.
But I think sometimes we think about
it as almost like soft expertise.
It's, oh, it's not, what the doctors
have, it's not research, it's
not, medical school information.
The reality is though, is you know
your diabetes and your body better
than anyone else in the world.
You have expertise in what your diabetes
is, so know that, don't let yourself
be dismissed easily whenever you have
feelings, experiences, or you're noticing
something that deserves to be heard.
And then the last thing I like to say,
is something that is definitely borrowed
from a lot of the advocacy movements,
and especially the L-G-B-T-Q Advocacy
Movement and HIV and aids, who also
dealt with a lot of stigma and have
had to work really hard against that.
And it's this concept of coming out.
So often people hide their
chronic conditions, especially
something like diabetes.
Has a way to keep it private, not have to
deal with unwanted comments or questions
or things that can be really annoying.
And the reality is so many more
people have diabetes than So many more
people know someone who has diabetes.
And the more that we can create
this kind of giant echo, this huge
voice that is lifting the entire
community up together, the better.
We're all gonna be prepared to push back
against stigma whenever it shows up.
And I just wanna encourage people
that when you feel safe and
comfortable, share your story and
what it's like living with diabetes.
It's going to go a really long
way in creating, compassion
and empathy and others as well.
another thing that is tied closely
with stigma and where stigma shows
up a lot is through language.
What are a few examples of
small shifts in language that
maybe can make a big difference?
Language is huge.
I wanna give a lot of credit to those
advocates and researchers who have been
talking about the concept of language
matters for decades longer than even.
Some of our concepts around
diabetes stigma have been around
the language that we're using.
Whenever we talk about diabetes or
we talk to someone with diabetes
can be really stigmatizing.
It can be judgemental, it can.
cause us to think about diabetes
in a way that we shame and
blame people for having it.
And I wanna encourage us to really
be a little bit more mindful
about our language choices.
So one of the things that I would say is
important to remember is that language
is always evolving and so it's important
to give yourself and others grace.
And by doing that, it just makes it
so that it feels a little less scary.
you don't have to worry that you're
gonna accidentally say the wrong
word and then immediately, be
canceled or something like that.
Yeah.
The reality is oh, we're
gonna try our best.
And I wanna talk about a couple
of ways of what this looks like.
And a great example is there's a lot of
language in the healthcare space around
diabetes that uses words like control,
adherence, compliance, things like, oh,
their diabetes is way out of control.
Or, my patient wasn't compliant with
the medication recommendation I made.
Whenever doctors especially
use those types of terms.
It can sometimes create this
really off balance, power dynamic.
The idea that the doctor is in charge,
they're telling a person what to do, and
if that person doesn't listen well, then
it's their fault what happens to them.
Yeah.
We all know that is not how
diabetes actually works.
This is a team effort.
The person with diabetes has so much
agency over their diabetes management, but
they don't have complete control over it.
And so what we wanna do in these scenarios
is encourage, maybe physicians or doctors
to shift their language to something
that is a little bit more team-based,
maybe a little bit more compassionate
and respectful, and just acknowledges
that they're one part of the care team.
So maybe that looks like saying
something like describing the
actual recommendation that was made.
it wasn't, the patient wasn't compliant.
It was, Jessica wasn't able to take her
medication every day because she sometimes
forgot on her way to taking her children
to school at 7:00 AM in the morning.
Yeah, it's a little bit wordier,
but it describes the challenges
that Jessica might be facing.
It describes some of the barriers
that are maybe preventing her from
actually taking her medication.
And it allows us an actual
opportunity to hopefully shift to
more positive behaviors in the future.
and it also just is more respectful.
It actually describes the problem going
on without using judgmental language.
So I know that was a little bit
of a wordy answer, but I it's
a complicated subject language.
It, yeah.
And it's something that is not
just easy word swap sometimes
for friends, family members,
even healthcare professionals
who want to be more supportive.
yep.
Can we dig into a little bit more of what
that actually sounds like in practice?
I recommend for everyone who is, a
little bit new to this, maybe they
wanna be a little bit more mindful
about the language that they're using.
The best thing to do is to ask people
for their language preferences.
what do you wanna be called?
Some people identify as
using the term diabetic.
It's brings them power.
It describes their lived experience.
It gives, a lot more emphasis to something
that is a very much a part of their life.
Other people hate being called that word,
and they might wanna be called something
like a person living with diabetes.
They just wanna be called their name.
Whatever that might be.
When you ask someone at the start of a
conversation or maybe for a doctor at
the start of a new intake appointment.
It just levels the playing
field a little bit.
It shows them that you're thinking about
this, and even if it's a little awkward,
what it does is it just, it shakes off the
nerves and it helps them see that you're
a person too, and you're just trying your
best to be as respectful as possible.
Some of the other things that I wanna
give as recommendations are language goes
beyond just the words that we're saying.
It's also our body languages, the
faces that we're making when someone
tells you that they have diabetes.
Don't make a face of disgust or
immediately jump into some sort of,
rude comment about if they ate too
much cake when they were little.
Those sorts of body language triggers
can sometimes be as impactful as
the actual words that we're saying.
Again, this is huge in
the healthcare space.
The last thing I'll mention here
is that kind of point that I
mentioned earlier, which is have
grace for yourself and for others.
It is okay to sometimes be wrong.
I think it's important not to get
defensive if someone maybe tries to call
you in and gives you a different word
choice or maybe tries to correct you.
And it also means that you know
what you thought worked at one
point maybe doesn't work anymore.
And that's okay because language evolves
and we are all trying to do what we can to
make the world a more empathetic and more
respectful place for people with diabetes.
And part of that means that we're
gonna continue to learn over time
what best practices really look like.
Yeah.
I love that.
And it's also a good reminder that
we are gonna be wrong about things.
Yeah, we're gonna make mistakes, but if
we're comfortable having conversations
with our loved ones about it, then
it really helps us all evolve.
Alright.
That's definitely very, helpful now.
Matthew, you've been part of a, larger
movement to address diabetes stigma,
including the recent Global Summit.
I would love to hear a
little more about that.
can you share more and, maybe a couple
of things that stood out to you and
talk about what gives you hope right
now that things can actually change.
Absolutely.
Oh, I'm so excited to talk about this.
So we recently had the pleasure for
diaTribe and just myself getting
to attend the inaugural Global
Summit to End Diabetes Stigma.
It was happening in Jaipur, India
right at the end of March, and
we had over 200 delegates from 40
different countries attend in person.
Each one of them, many of them
were speakers and presenters.
Many of them had submitted
abstract contributions.
Sharing their story sharing initiatives
that they're a part of in their
regions, sharing ideas for the future
and ways that we can raise awareness
around and address diabetes stigma.
So it was just this most
incredible gathering.
I wanna give a lot of credit to the
entire steering committee led in part
by Jane Spate and her team at Deacon
University and the Australian Center
for Behavioral Research and Diabetes.
They were not the only group that
was a part of this, but they have led
so many of these efforts over a very
long time, and I also wanna give a
lot of credit to our main sponsor,
breakthrough T 1D, who was able to
help give us some of the funding to
actually bring this opportunity to life.
On the ground.
It was one of the coolest things that I've
ever gotten to be a part of because we
had all of these advocates and researchers
and healthcare professionals, each from
their own regions, their own cultural
context, sharing stories about what
diabetes stigma looks like in their world.
Yeah.
How that impacts the people that
they care about or themselves.
And also this idea that maybe some
of the solutions that we think will
work in one place are completely wrong
for The another place in the world.
One other thing that I will mention is
just a note for, all of the different.
Diabetes organizations in the
world, because there was one session
that we were a part of that was
around campaigns and communication.
And I think sometimes we have this idea
that, diabetes organizations, they're
already doing so much and these are
the groups that we should look for.
when we are trying to understand
and learn ourselves, the reality is
sometimes even diabetes organizations
can get their messaging wrong sometimes.
And it was really a very cool
workshop that we got to be a part of
where we were trying to craft what
communications or a campaign can look
like whenever it is free from stigma.
What is, the best practices for how
we talk about diabetes, how we raise
awareness around the issue of diabetes
without immediately jumping to fear-based
messaging or judgmental language.
So I really just encourage all
of us who are in the diabetes
sphere who maybe sometimes think.
Oh, I'm not the problem.
I'm not contributing to this.
So just take a step back and realize
that, hey, we can all be a little
bit better, and what can we learn
from the diabetes community and
from our peers to help us to improve
the work that we are doing as well?
It really reinforces what we
talked about just a few minutes
ago about the importa of importance
of asking questions, having, yeah.
Open honest conversations and
learning what life looks like
for the person across the table.
And I, imagine it's very much
amplified on a global scale, but
also in the world we walk in every
day where we're encountering.
Different micro communities and
microenvironments of what someone's
life with diabetes looks like.
Yeah.
And you had mentioned, what is really
giving me hope and what I'm taking
away from this, and I just wanted to
really call attention to the number
of young adults, and, young advocates
who are all coming, who came from
around the world to this global
summit and shared their stories.
I think more than anything that
just It really warmed my heart.
It brought me to tears multiple times
throughout the weekend of the summit.
Just hearing the resilience of all
of these individuals, the work that
they're doing to uplift themselves,
their families, their friends and peers
in their own countries, and just how
passionate they are about this issue.
It made me think that, we are in very good
hands with this next generation in terms
of continuing to try to dismantle diabetes
stigma, and I'm very excited because.
More and more over the next few weeks
of our, insights and learnings from
the summit are gonna become available
more widely to the general audience.
Yeah.
Amazing.
I know that, at the time of
recording, you're hot off the
heels of the global summit.
do you know already where people
can tune in to learn more?
where should they watch for
some of that information?
The first is@enddiabetesstigma.org.
Okay.
Spelled exactly how it sounds,
end diabetes stigma.org.
Tons of the contributions,
the learnings, videos from the
summit are gonna be posted there.
And then for those friends who happen
to be on LinkedIn, we also have an
end diabetes stigma group on LinkedIn.
So if you go to LinkedIn, type in
end diabetes stigma, it should bring
you to that webpage and you'll get
to see tons of pictures, insights,
debriefs from the Global Summit.
And we'll be sure to be posting
more videos and learnings there
as well over the next few weeks.
And you mentioned, and diabetes
stigma.org, but there's also a lot
of resources available just on the
stigma topic in general at dStigmatize.
Can you share a little bit about that?
Yes.
We have a ton of resources
on dStigmatized dot org.
So that is spelled d. stigmatize.org
we will be sharing more of our
perspective on the global summit there.
But already we have a ton of resources
for healthcare professionals that
have been published over the last few
years as we've been doing this work.
We have, learnings for individuals living
with diabetes to just, better understand
what stigma is and what it looks like.
and@destigmatize.org, you can find
one of our newest initiatives that
we've launched at destigmatize.
Which is our Spoonful
of laughter initiative.
So this is primarily a social
media campaign, but it includes
videos, comics, posts on Instagram
and on LinkedIn and on Facebook.
that try to use this concept of comedy
for social change, this idea that maybe
we can talk about diabetes stigma in a
way that isn't just lecturing people,
but inviting them to laugh and giggle and
be entertained with a hilarious sketch
video or maybe a standup comedy set.
But still learn something.
Still learn what diabetes looks like.
Maybe some of the silly stigmatizing
comments that people experience, and
hopefully it might lower people's
guard a little bit and just allow them
to see, oh, there's a different way
that we can be talking about diabetes
that isn't just negative and isn't
just sensationalist, but is actually
very much in the same language that
we all speak in our day-to-day lives.
yeah, you can visit
destigmatize.org and see all of
those different initiatives there.
Yeah, absolutely.
And we'll get, all of the links
in the show notes, so that we can
get people to the right places.
Absolutely.
Perfect.
Matthew, thank you for
talking with me today.
I really, appreciate it.
It's, an, it goes a long way in helping.
Break down some of these stigmatizing
things that we're experiencing.
Absolutely.
Thank you so much for having me, Scott.
It was an honor to be here.
Thanks for listening today.
One thing that really stood out to me
in this conversation is how powerful
simple questions can be, especially
around the language that we use to
talk about living with diabetes,
both with others and with ourselves.
If you wanna learn more about this work
or explore resources around diabetes
stigma, visit end diabetes stigma.org
as well as destigmatize.org and be
sure to tune in for our next episode.
Until then, keep living well with T 1D.