We met for the first time about two years ago at a JDRF TypeOneNation in Dallas, and over the last few years, I’ve really enjoyed seeing the community that Rob Howe is building through his podcast, Diabetics Doing Things. Today, Rob is visiting SixUntilMe to share his diabetes diagnosis, how he ended up starting a podcast, and a curious little…
Diabetics Doing Things: Talking with Rob Howe
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, PodcastI’m weirdly proud to have brought this term to the DOC back in 2005 or 2006. (My blog has fallen apart/reassembled a few different times since then, so the posts are wonkily formatted, and some are missing.) And every time I read the phrase on someone’s post or see it on a t-shirt or actually take a frigging rage bolus,…
Voices Carry.
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life DiabetesThere’s no generation assigned glibly to me – not a millenial, not a Gen X’er, but I seem to be an “xenial,” according to this new write-up. I identify completely with “experienced an analogue childhood and a digital adulthood.” My journaling has gone from paper journals to blog posts, too. I used to keep volumes of chaotic ramblings as a…
Diabetes Privacy?
Blood Sugars, Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life DiabetesI was thinking about diabetes privacy this morning while I was poking through the archives, and came upon this post from Diabetes Blog Week last year. (Here’s a full list of the contributions generated by that prompt.) What do you share about your diabetes? And what is on your List of Absolutely NOT Sharing, diabetes-wise? For me, I don’t share…
Ten Things About Things.
Diabetes Community, Diabetes Memories, Diabetes Videos, Psychosocial Support, Real Life DiabetesI do really hate those “Ten Things About Things” sort of posts, but in this case, I’ve screwed it up even more by intending to write a list of ten things, then realized I only included nine things. Whoops. This spring will mark eleven years of sharing my diabetes story on the Internet, and over the course of the last…
Looking Back: Of Cocktails and Community.
Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life DiabetesToday, after a lovely morning at the dentist (once again fixing this issue), I’m recovering from a half-droopy novocained face and, as a result, am looking back at a post from 2013 about search engine optimization, diabetes, and cocktails … sort of. * * * “So what you should do is see what people are searching for and then carefully…
Guest Post: Let’s Talk About It.
Diabetes Complications, Guest Diabetes Blogger, Psychosocial Support, Real Life DiabetesDiagnosed with type 1 at age 15, Kimberly Hislop has been living with diabetes for 18 years. She’s been an insulin pumper since 2009. Kim is currently studying psychology with hopes of one day working with people who have been diagnosed with chronic illnesses. She’s been a guest speaker for pharmacists, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, teaching about diabetic complications…
Interview: Anna Norton on the Future of Diabetes Sisters.
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial SupportOrganizations that bring people touched by diabetes together have a special place in my heart, because peer-to-peer support checks that “whole person care” box on the mental diabetes management to do list. The Diabetes Sisters organization is a group that brings women with type 1 and type 2 diabetes together in an environment that fosters open discussion, camaraderie, and learning. …
For Chris’s Sea of Trees premiere this past weekend at the Cannes Film Festival, diabetes was almost the furthest thing from my mind because we were so damn excited about the event. Diabetes came into play for a brief moment when I was looking for a dress. I tried to adopt a “dress first, diabetes second” philosophy, picking a dress…
This week, I saw a Tweet from Close Concerns President Kelly Close about the idea of behavior and “behavior change,” which sparked some conversation on Twitter (and woke up the bats in my head): Hey people w/diabetes! Doing a bit of work for an @AmDiabetesAssn talk – what do “behavior” + “behavior change” mean to people w/ #diabetes? — kelly…
Karen Graffeo is a talented knitter, devoted cat owner, and tireless advocate for diabetes, and I am so proud to call her a friend. Six years ago, she launched the first Diabetes Blog Week, an effort that serves to expand the diabetes online community and embrace the beauty of diversity of voices. Today, Karen is sharing some of the how’s…
Unraveling the UnConference.
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes and Emotions, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life DiabetesThanks to the vision, dedication, and determination of Christel Aprigliano, the first Diabetes UnConference came together in Las Vegas last weekend. “Wait, what? I didn’t see anything on Twitter or Facebook!” And that’s because there was a social media blackout on the whole conference during the actual course of it. No live-Tweeting, no live-blogging, no live-streaming. As my daughter used…
An In-Depth Look at the Diabetes UnConference.
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Guest Diabetes Blogger, Psychosocial Support, Real Life Diabetes, Relationships, SUM in Other PlacesPeer to peer support has been shown to be highly beneficial to those living with diabetes. The report, “Peer Support in Health – Evidence to Action,” summarizing findings from the first National Peer Support Collaborative Learning Network shared that: “Among 20 studies of diabetes management, 19 showed statistically significant evidence of benefits of peer support.” In keeping with that theme, The…
SUM stuff from around the Internet: “The latest in this trend is the meme showing a fat little girl titled ‘Lil Diabeetus snacks’ as a take-off to Little Debbie Snacks. It’s being bandied about on FaceBook as ‘cute’ and ‘funny’; an appropriate name change. Is it funny? I don’t think so.” Kate weighs in on the Facebook meme. Tuesday’s #dblogcheck…
What Do You Want to Talk About?
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Community, Diabetes Online Community, Psychosocial Support, Real Life DiabetesLast night’s #dsma chat was a particularly good one, because its intention was to generate discussion and feedback about what people in the diabetes online community (DOC) want to talk about. These questions will be about DSMA and how we can improve your experience and to discuss topics that are near and dear to you. #dsma — DiabetesSocMedAdvoca (@DiabetesSocMed) July…
Guest Post: Adventure D!!
Diabetes Advocacy, Diabetes Community, Exercise & Fitness, Guest Diabetes Blogger, Psychosocial Support, Real Life DiabetesHi! I’m on the road again this week (ADA and a quick visit to Canada and then down to Texas … hence the digital tumbleweeds here), but thankfully, a good friend from across the pond has stepped in to say hello and share a little bit about why she’s created a really col project called Adventure D. Please welcome the…