What has helped you the most with diabetes?

I don’t have diabetes but this helped me with my other conditions so it could possible help you(?). Online groups with diabetes either on Facebook/any other social media app can make you feel less alone, especially if they’re located near you. This is something that may not apply to you either but since my disabilities have been with me since birth, I never got the chance to grieve over it. Any grieve, I mean the things I can’t do, the things I will never get to do because of it. I never allowed myself to feel that way because I “life with it all my life” but let me tell you, do NOT do that at all. Whatever condition it is, this can be life changing and some days it can seem like the world is crashing down on you. Let yourself feel that way, of course don’t dwell on it, but allow yourself to grief for things that you may have lost and eventually I was able to accept myself. I definitely still struggle with comparing myself to able bodied people daily, especially since I’m in high school, but accepting it in my life has made me less miserable about the way I do things, treatments, surgeries, etc.

In my town there is a local nonprofit that gives free diabetic info classes taught by a nurse. That helped out the most. Oh- and something that did NOT help out at all when I was newly diagnosed- Facebook groups. The people there take everything to the extreme and they were giving out bad advice. Stay away from Facebook groups.