I have been thinking, talking, learning, reading, studying, writing, sharing, and hoping about the messages in diabetes since 1990 (it could have been 1988).
I truly believe it matters what we say to and how we talk about people with diabetes. I’ve seen the effects and I’ve heard the stories about how words and messages make a difference – good and bad, positive and negative, short and long term.
Negative messages erode hope.
This is not just true in diabetes – it’s actually a thing for all people in all of health care. I happen to be focused on diabetes right now. When we fix that, I’ll move on (I promise).
We have made some progress, and we still have a long way to go.
The language/messages of diabetes matter because people with diabetes hear them in context. They create meaning from what they hear and that meaning has a direct impact on their thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and actions. In turn, those thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and actions have an impact on health outcomes.
Thinking about and changing the way we speak to and about people with diabetes is do-able. It doesn’t cost anything. And it helps people – it makes a difference in a positive way.
We are one hundred years down the road from the day when insulin became commercially available and began saving lives. And in those one hundred years we’ve seen incredible advances in how we manage diabetes. We’ve also seen the birth and continuation of a language that tends to be judgmental, shame/blamed-based, negative, and problematic for people living with this challenging disease.
2022 is the year we need to turn this around once and for all. Reality check – it’s the year we can at least take more steps in that direction. All are welcome to join the “language movement” – it’ll be fun.