When it rains in Little Rock, Cora won't leave the back porch. She walks to the edge, looks at the rain, and turns right back around. 5.9 pounds of pure refusal, and nothing Neil does changes it. That feeling has a name.
Diabetes distress comes in 7 flavors. Neil reads all 7 from the 2015 Fisher and Polonsky research (powerlessness, the daily grind, fear of lows, being judged, eating, your care team, and the people who love you getting it wrong), then the follow-up that tracked 224 adults for 9 months and found powerlessness was the most common one and the one that stuck around longest. It's the Thanos of the list. Plus the plain-English difference between distress, burnout, and depression, and why a good A1C and feeling like a failure are allowed to show up at the same time.
In this episode:
- The 7 sources of diabetes distress, read fast so you can listen for yours
- Why powerlessness outlasts the other 6
- 400 decisions a day with about a 60 percent hit rate
- Distress, burnout, and depression: 3 different things, and which one gets a professional
- Why distress doesn't track your A1C
- The porch, the rain, and what standing there with the door open has to do with community
This week's challenge: Same as Monday. One real comment on one person's post, one sentence a human typed. Already did it? Do a second one, you overachiever.
What is Your Best T1D Year?
Managing Type 1 Diabetes doesn’t have to be overwhelming.
Each 5-minute episode of Your Best T1D Year is packed with practical strategies, mindset shifts, and a little humor to help you feel more in control and less frustrated by diabetes.
Hosted by Neil Greathouse, this Monday, Wednesday, and Friday podcast delivers quick, relatable episodes that make learning about T1D effortless - so you can build small wins that lead to big changes.
📅 New episodes drop every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
🎧 Subscribe now and start making diabetes management feel easier - one small habit at a time.