There has been quite a bit of research on diabetes and stigma, and there is a lot of stigma attached to diabetes. People with diabetes are often thought of as lazy, poor, fat, weak, bad, not intelligent, and over eaters. At a conference last fall, we were discussing how people with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes have reported feeling stigmatized. The following question came from that discussion.
CRS Q/A Question: Why does T1DM have more social stigma than T2DM? It is out of their control.
One study showed higher rates of experiencing stigma in people with type 1 diabetes, which may be related to type 1 diabetes being more visible than type 2 diabetes. People with type 1 diabetes often check blood glucose levels and inject insulin in public. They are also more likely to wear continuous glucose monitoring devices on areas of the body that show and insulin pumps on their belts.
People with type 1 diabetes may also be more likely to discuss their experiences with stigma. People with type 2 diabetes have had such a hard time with judgment and being told (or having it implied) that it’s their fault for having diabetes that they may not be willing to share about stigma as much.
What we have to remember from this topic and this person’s question/comment is that no one deserves diabetes. Saying that type 1 diabetes is out of someone’s control implies that someone with type 2 diabetes does have control over it. Genetics is one of the biggest factors contributing to type 2 diabetes, and no one has any control over their genes.
It’s time to stop blaming and shaming in diabetes. It doesn’t help anyone or anything and it’s quite possibly doing a lot of harm. I do not write this to shame the person who asked. I am glad they asked. I’m even glad they made the comment, because we have to shed light on this problem of treating people with diabetes like they did something wrong and are being punished for it.
Thank you for the question, and thank you to everyone for considering changing our approach.