The Blue Tick

It's been a couple of months since I took "the plunge" to verify my Twitter account. Of course, that's now a verified X account following the rebranding at Musk Inc. It has raised a few questions and conversations, primarily "why?!" especially as the recent changes at this platform have caused many to move to other areas of the Internet for their socials. I thought that I'd clear things up with a blog post, instead of writing a really long tweet... xeet? Whatever.

In today's digital age, social media platforms have become powerful tools for advocacy and awareness campaigns. Twitter, with its extensive reach and real-time engagement, stands out as a platform that can significantly amplify the voice of advocates. For individuals advocating for diabetes awareness, being verified on Twitter holds immense importance. Twitter verification is crucial for diabetes advocates, especially those (like me) who are not professional advocates. Below, I'll look at how it enhances credibility, increases visibility, and facilitates meaningful connections within the diabetes community.

• Credibility Amplification: Whether we like it or not, for many, verification on Twitter symbolises authenticity and credibility. For diabetes advocates, whose primary goal is to provide accurate information and create awareness, being verified adds an extra layer of trust for their followers. Verified accounts are perceived as authoritative sources of information, allowing advocates to spread accurate details about diabetes management, treatment options, and lifestyle changes with more impact.

• Enhanced Visibility: Verified accounts are more likely to appear at the top of search results and in relevant conversations. For diabetes advocates, this visibility boost is essential in ensuring their messages reach a broader audience. With the ever-increasing volume of content on social media, standing out from the noise is crucial. Verification ensures that the important messages of diabetes advocates are not lost in the crowd, enabling them to effectively reach people who need accurate information about the condition.

• Access to Features: Twitter verification comes with access to advanced features, such as analytics and insights into tweet performance. This data can be incredibly valuable for diabetes advocates, as it helps them understand what type of content resonates most with their audience. This information can be used to tailor their advocacy efforts, refine their messaging, and optimise their engagement strategies.

• Collaboration Opportunities: Verified accounts are more likely to be approached for collaborations, partnerships, and joint initiatives. For diabetes advocates, this means increased opportunities to collaborate with medical professionals, researchers, organisations, and other "influencers" in the healthcare space. Collaborations can lead to more comprehensive and impactful advocacy campaigns, furthering the cause of diabetes awareness.

• Building a Stronger Community: Verification status fosters a sense of community among advocates, creating a network of credible voices in the diabetes space. Verified advocates can connect more easily with each other, sharing insights, experiences, and strategies. This sense of camaraderie strengthens the overall impact of their advocacy efforts and encourages the exchange of knowledge within the diabetes community.

• Countering Misinformation: This is one of the major pulls for me to be verified. Diabetes advocates often find themselves combating misinformation and myths about the condition. A verified status on Twitter empowers advocates to debunk false information with authority and credibility. As misinformation spreads easily on social media, having verified advocates actively participating in these discussions is essential for steering the conversation in the right direction.

In a world where social media has become an integral part of advocacy, Twitter verification holds undeniable significance for diabetes advocates. The benefits range from amplifying credibility and visibility to enabling collaboration and providing access to valuable insights. By becoming verified, diabetes advocates can leverage their status to create a more informed, connected, and empowered diabetes community. As the digital landscape continues to evolve, being verified on Twitter is not just a badge of honour; it's a tool that can drive meaningful change and make a lasting impact on diabetes awareness.

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Oversharing in Diabetes

I remember writing about sharing information, data, stories in diabetes before, probably a year or two ago, and my thoughts on the subject haven't really changed much as we head towards 2023 but a few things have happened which have sparked conversation in the last year.

On the Twitter, I tweeted this about Sharing T1D yesterday. I'm fine with others liking or not liking to share their diabetes information. Health, including diabetes, is a very personal subject and often subjected to stigmatising remarks, bullying and sometimes just generally unhelpful (and often unsolicited) advice. Little wonder that some prefer to not share anything in regards to their own diabetes with the prospect of such negativity. I really understand that, I hid my T1D for a long time because I didn't want to hear the advice or the patronising encouragement or have to explain what it was, what type, do I have to inject... yadda, yadda. It was just so much easier to hide it for the majority of the time and social media is such an easy place to hide. It's easy to have lurker accounts on pretty much every platform, easy to sit back and read rather than joining in the conversations. Hiding and not sharing is a very safe place to be.

There is a safety aspect to consider when sharing, too. Who knows who lurks behind the keyboards of others and what their intentions might be? Only last summer, I was made aware of a prolonged period of stalking and accusational tweets aimed towards me from an Australian advocate account which I'd blocked some 18 months beforehand. Disturbing stuff which took me away from Twitter for a few days to consider my options. Thankfully, that episode came to an end once I'd brought it to public attention but it was shocking and upsetting. It's very easy to upset somebody on social media without trying and those we upset well, they might not have enough sandwiches for a picnic. How do we share but stay safe? There is no simple answer apart from avoid offering personal details to people who you don't know. Sometimes, even that might not be enough if a determined person wants to track you down, find your employer, etc.

So, is it worth it? Yes! I think that offering your story, your experiences, your info can be really helpful to your peers. I imagine that you've read something in regards to diabetes which you've found useful in how you manage your own diabetes. Maybe those words came from somebody living with the same type of diabetes, a person who was willing to share their experiences and information. That's why you should consider sharing your experiences and information! It is the cheapest and easiest way to "pay it forward". Of course, don't make it easy for the sandwich deprived to locate you in person, avoid publicising your phone number and sort code and if an unpleasant encounter does occur then my best advice is to ignore it. You might choose to use the mute function on your chosen platform rather than the block button to minimise the oxygen given to the angry fires. To not give oxygen to the fire has been a long term piece of advice of mine but I'm still guilty of doing the opposite from time to time. I'm only human and the urge to vent can be overwhelming in the face of serious sandwich deprivation. I'll try harder in 2023.

What about the feelings of others when you share? Perhaps you've had a great HbA1c, your best ever, and you hit your socials to spread the news and celebrate your good day. I suspect you'll mostly be met with encouragement and good cheer from your friends and peers. However, you may also be met with words which dissuade you from sharing such info because others might be having a tough time with their A1c or general diabetes management. I have a lot of sympathy for anybody who is struggling with their diabetes, I try to make myself available to anybody who needs to talk through groups, mentoring or just a simple message exchange but the struggles of others should never stop you talking about your own diabetes if you've had a good day or a good result. This condition is relentless and despite the tech advances it will continue to be so for the foreseeable. Little victories need to be celebrated, I find them to be morale boosting, I feel more in control of my diabetes and, when others share their wins, I feel encouraged by them and pleased for my peers.

To not share results or information through fear of upsetting others is a backwards step in peer support. If we were to stop sharing our lived experiences, what worked, what didn't, what hurts, what itches, a great A1c, a dodgy TIR, etc then how do we learn about advances in tech and medicine and care and solutions? Our diabetes team? Yeah - I'm not sure that the closed looping crowd would agree. I wouldn't agree, either. Without reading the experiences of my peers, I wouldn't have discovered Flash, CGM and insulin pump therapy as soon as I did - three things that massively improved my diabetes burden and numbers.

If you do feel negatively about the shared information or experiences of others then I think it might be worthwhile to seek support from different areas, especially if such sharing is becoming overwhelming to you and making your own diabetes burden even worse. 

I am pro-sharing when it comes to diabetes. It is the foundation of peer support, in my opinion and there are very few dangers from tweeting your last A1c result. Oversharing is where the dangers lie, keep your private info protected and remember that fire and oxygen thing.

Thank you so much for reading this blog. I do appreciate your visit and your support. As you might know, I LOVE COFFEE! So I've teamed up with a thing called Buy Me A Coffee. If you enjoy my content and appreciate the time it takes to create such things then you can buy me a coffee! If you leave your Twitter @ name when you buy me a coffee, I will personally thank you. If you'd rather be anonymous then that's totally cool. Thanks for the caffeine!

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Nothing To See Here

Me wearing sunglasses and a black hoodie, standing in a field with a line of trees in the background on a bright and sunny day.

It looks like summer is coming to an end in the UK. At least, the super-hot days have been replaced with warm days and decisions to make about what clothes to wear when you venture outside. Hoodie's cover many bases and that's what I chose to wear, in the photo above, while on Day 2 of my Steptember Challenge, yesterday - more on that later in the blog post.

You may have already heard about my story of sight loss and subsequent visual impairment. It must be around 15 years ago when I was first told "You need lots of laser surgery" followed by panic, appointment avoidance and, 3 years later, a rushed appointment to Eye Casualty which ended with "I'm going to be seeing a lot of you".

He (my eye surgeon) was right. I was in the operating theatre several times from 2010 to 2012 and then again to fix ocular hypertension in 2014. For 18 months of my life I was almost entirely blind and unsure if I would ever regain any sight. 

I'm not here to repeat my eye complications story, today. The experience changed me and, to be frank, had I not regained any of my sight then I'm not sure where I would be or if, indeed, I would be here at all. I'm grateful for what I have rather than regretful of what I've lost. 

Diabetes is well known to be associated with sight loss, you probably know that. You might be scared of that happening to you, you might have experienced sight loss already or you might be avoiding the subject entirely - in which case, congrats on getting this far into this blog post. I'm acutely aware of what sight loss means and what it feels like to live with. 

Between 2010 and 2012, I was active on Twitter. 'Whaaaaat?! But your account was created in 2017!' - That's true. The account you know me from (@DiabeticDadUK) was born in 2017 but I've actually been on Twitter since the very early days in a professional and personal capacity. In 2010, I had no niche. I would tweet about anything and everything and it was fun until my retinas went pop.

I was aware of accessibility on my iPhone and after having it activated for me (I couldn't see the screen) it became my lifeline and an escape from my loneliness. Visual impairment robbed me of:

- The ability to drive.

- The ability to work.

- A social life.

- My favourite hobby (playing poker)

- My confidence and self-esteem

- I could continue this list forever but you get the idea.

The accessibility feature on my phone allowed me to stay connected. I could hear messages, the news, sports reports, who couldn't believe what on Facebook, if huns were OK and tweets! The tweets were my favourite thing because I could talk to lots of people and share stories and still laugh despite my condition. The most frustrating thing was when somebody would tweet a photo. I yearned to see what they were happy, angry, sad or excited about. I couldn't, nobody was describing their photos and I was left to concentrate on tweets which were text only. 

Here we are, in 2022, over 10 years later. I can see well enough to not need accessibility switched on. Again, I'm incredibly grateful. However, there are a lot of people in the diabetes communities which have a greater degree of visual impairment and they do need accessibility. These days, there is an ALT text option on tweets which contain an image or GIF. Amazing!

Last week, I launched the Accessibility Pledge on GBDoc through the @GBDocInfo account. As a community volunteer, I wanted this to come through the community and not through my own personal account. Other volunteers were happy with the pledge and we've all been trying to follow it since Sept 1st. It's been wonderful to see so many individuals adopt the pledge and adjust how they use twitter when it comes to using ALT text. You're a great bunch and I salute you all for doing that with such good spirit and kindness towards people living with visual impairments.

Other community accounts have adopted the same approach as GBDoc, too. I'm very happy to see those accounts setting a great example of accessibility to their followers. 

Sadly, despite encouragement and tagging other accounts we've yet to see a response of any note from the big charities and diabetes organisations which are not using ALT text. I have written to the CEO of Diabetes UK, Chris Askew, a person who has always been engaging and friendly with me - indeed, Chris was kind enough to host a GBDoc Tweetchat for us a few years ago - and he has promised to flag this up to the right people in his team. I think/hope we'll see changes to the DUK tweeted images very soon. 

Update: Diabetes UK now use ALT text regularly on their tweeted images. Thank you, Chris and team.

JDRF UK would be the next port of call for diabetes charities. As wonderfully active as the JDRF staff are on Twitter, very few seem eager to use ALT text. The JDRF UK account managed to use it once, in the last week. Quite why once and then not again is baffling and infuriating to people with visual impairments. On Saturday (yesterday), JDRF UK were very active in promoting a virtual event which I would've been delighted to amplify to my followers and across GBDoc accounts. But, sadly and inexplicably, no ALT text had been used so, I couldn't promote it. I can't amplify tweets which exclude people and tweets which contain no image descriptions are excluding a great number of individuals.

I think I've offered enough "heads up" tweets to JDRF UK and again here in this post. I won't be trying to send an email or a private message to the CEO or other staff members for fear of harassment! I'm also aware of wasting my time and energy in some places and I'd rather focus that on organisations who listen to community members and acknowledge their communications. I hope JDRF UK will follow the lead of others in this regard and do the right thing very soon.

Update: JDRF UK now use ALT text regularly on their tweeted images. Thank you.

I have a lot of connections and good relationships to lovely people who work in the world of diabetes. I will be approaching them all in due course, should they be omitting ALT text from their tweeted images. 

Guys, seriously, this is NOT work for you. Some of you are speedy-ass typists and excellent writers of copy. To describe your images in a sentence or two will not break you. I promise this is not some kind of a scam, I do not want your sort codes. Start doing this today, please! Even if you tweet one image every month, use ALT text on that image. It won't detract from your enjoyment of Twitter - you might even gain new followers and friendships because of it! It's a win/win situation. 

The Steptember Challenge? My poor, achy, feet. Find out more about this here

Thank you so much for reading this blog. I do appreciate your visit and your support. As you might know, I LOVE COFFEE! So I've teamed up with a thing called Buy Me A Coffee. If you enjoy my content and appreciate the time it takes to create such things then you can buy me a coffee! If you leave your Twitter @ name when you buy me a coffee, I will personally thank you. If you'd rather be anonymous then that's totally cool. Thanks for the caffeine!

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Due Diligence

How is your Diabetes Awareness Month going? Still aware, I know. Hilarious jokes aside, there has been a lot of really good information and experiences shared on social media. Yesterday, World Diabetes Day, saw the awareness posts increase further and I think that's a great thing. If we want others to understand the condition which we try to manage 24/7 then it makes good sense to talk about it openly. 

It makes good sense for the people living with D, the Diabetics, to talk openly. Even if the facts aren't always correct, you'll still read first-hand lived experience. I've been an advocate of talking for several years now because, for me at least, it is a source of therapy, information exchanging and a super way to just vent about my T1D.

As individuals, we don't really need to perform much due diligence ahead of publishing our thoughts. It might be a good idea to hold fire if you're angry or upset or going through a rough time with your mental health but I think on a general day we can simply hit the Tweet, Post, Submit, Send buttons without much of a care.

In the world of health care, for profit or otherwise, I think far more care is needed and I think that there is enough information and help around for any business to avoid the brown hitting the fan. That is especially true if your business is Diabetes focused. Then you really need to be getting the right people to give you the right advice because nobody loves a pile on like social media folk while trying to balance their blood glucose levels. Some of us are happy to highlight the damaging, too. What sort of advocate would I be if I didn't vilify the hurtful and stigmatising of my peers? A pretty bad one, I reckon.

I don't actively hunt for the trash content, I have a life. I will amplify it when I see it. I might have a little sarcastic rant or simply pose an open question. Of course, how a business reacts to that is their "business" and how I give my support to them in the future, if I amplify their campaigns, if I accept any work from them, then depends on that next reaction. I think that's the correct way to behave in most aspects of life. See a mistake, highlight the mistake, wait for correction (or not) then move on in whatever direction is most morally comfortable for you.

The World Health Organisation posted some pretty awful things in relation to Diabetes on World Diabetes Day. Normally, I would include a link or a screenshot here but I think many of you have already read that rubbish or it won't take you very long to find it if you haven't and you're very interested. It's disturbing to think that an organisation of that size cannot hire somebody to perform some fact checking over their Diabetes posts and infographics. A little due diligence for the care of their 10.1 million Twitter followers, especially those who live with Diabetes, shouldn't break the bank. I imagine the right Diabetes advocates would offer their time for free for such a thing. 

That is not the WHO's only "gaff". They were busy stigmatising during their Compact summit in April. 7 months later and more trash from the same organisation. I could talk about some of their Covid-19 posts, next. The list is starting to look pretty long and very, very trashy. 

So, right now, that's me done with the WHO and everything related to them. I'm sure they'll cope without me. It was all a bit downhill after Baba O'Riley anyway.

Thank you so much for reading this blog. I do appreciate your visit and your support. As you might know, I LOVE COFFEE! So I've teamed up with a thing called Buy Me A Coffee. If you enjoy my content and appreciate the time it takes to create such things then you can buy me a coffee! If you leave your Twitter @ name when you buy me a coffee, I will personally thank you. If you'd rather be anonymous then that's totally cool. Thanks for the caffeine!

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Peer Judgement

I've been a vocal advocate of peer support within Diabetes for a long time. It would be strange, in my position, to not be. The list of support, help and friendships offered to me has been incredible and I'll be forever grateful.

Alongside my peer support gushing, I have been deliberate in my attempts at trying to warn others about the potential pitfalls of engaging with peers within Diabetes circles. The ugly side of peer engagement rarely sticks its head above the parapet fortunately but it is there and as more official avenues of care begin to recognise the positives of peer support, I think it is very important to have a firm safeguarding and vetting procedure in place to at least minimise, if not eliminate, the possibility of damaging engagements between people living with Diabetes.

The Internet is a wild place. Anybody can create accounts and spout all kinds of hate, extreme views or health damaging advice.

"He's clearly not using the technology correctly..."

"Perhaps his grocery bill would be lower if..."

"The truth hurts" - A personal favourite of the peer judges.

Those three came from one person, a person who lives very locally to me and who (at the time) was claiming to be an active volunteer for Diabetes UK. He wasn't a volunteer, of course and it became apparent that he had aired his views about others' Diabetes management across social media resulting in various bans and outrage from other peers.

I think the great thing about Diabetes Twitter is the unquestioning welcoming and support of new people. I hope that remains because we were all newly diagnosed and frightened, once. I hope that remains despite the recent welcoming of an individual who claimed to be a student nurse, recently diagnosed with T1D. Tonnes of love and support from various quarters arrived in his life. At the same time his true colours became apparent. The colours of a racist, ableist, liar. The Twitter community noticed and large numbers were quick to express their displeasure before turning their back on that person.

This week, I passed the two month mark in my pumping journey. It's been great and I felt very encouraged by the real life changes as well as the improved numbers. I tweeted my numbers for a comparison to my life as a Diabetic on MDI. Much positivity followed until this reply:

"So clearly not worth having such an unsightly pump?! What gets to me is how damn ugly & unsexy all related to diabetes is!"

I did reply, later on but when I read that response I was angry. I was angry for others more than myself because I'm a man in my mid 40s and, after living a life with disability, I am almost numb to hurtful comments. I was angry for the newly diagnosed, the children, the impressionable, the low on confidence... I can't imagine how the teenager felt, after starting pump therapy recently, once they had read that response. How would you have felt? So, I didn't reply immediately. I retweeted the comment and invited others to share their views. It's a few days later, now and their tweet is still attracting replies. I think that underlines the strength of feeling and the general dismay.

What does pop up occasionally, if I've highlighted something which is horribly offensive, discrimination or possibly damaging to the health of others is the old "They're allowed an opinion" response. Sometimes dressed as freedom of speech and sometimes with a heavy hint of accusation with a #ThoughtPolice hashtag. Here's the deal; If a person responds to something you've done or said with words that express offense, that they feel discriminated against, that they're worried your words or actions could be damaging, then it's probably not for fun. It takes bravery for a person to call out these things. Then it's down to you to take a breath and consider if they have a point, was it a misunderstanding you can clear up or do you need to re-evaluate things? Perhaps even apologise!? I think everybody should be free to express themselves if that expression is not going to cause distress or damage to another person or persons. That would seem to be a reasonable, kind way to live and engage with others.

Words which struck a chord with me came from Dan Newman (@T1D_Dan) when the subject of harassment came up during an online conference. Dan said that if you read something which you don't like then simply block that account. He's right. You're not obliged to respond to anybody and your only duty on social media is to that of your own well being. You may be questioned, I certainly have been, about why you've blocked X, Y or Z. You don't owe any explanations to anybody. Do all your social media in a way which is comfortable for you and not others.

It seems that peer support could be a part of your Diabetes care through the NHS in the future. To the decision makers, the leaders, I encourage you to tread carefully by vetting each person you enlist, reading their social media and asking others for thoughts. If you offer somebody a job then you ask for references, don't you? and to everybody else online or otherwise; Stranger danger. 

Thank you so much for reading this blog. I do appreciate your visit and your support. As you might know, I LOVE COFFEE! So I've teamed up with a thing called Buy Me A Coffee. If you enjoy my content and appreciate the time it takes to create such things then you can buy me a coffee! If you leave your Twitter @ name when you buy me a coffee, I will personally thank you. If you'd rather be anonymous then that's totally cool. Thanks for the caffeine!

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Quack, Quack!

I'm afraid that you have Type 1 Diabetes. Have you tried a leech on your pancreas?

Before I get into it, today. I'd like to address the lovely comments and discussion that surrounded my last blog; The Path To Pumping Pt.1 Over 1,500 of you have read that and I'm astounded by that figure. I really will be following that up in the coming months.

Alrighty then! It's 2021 and Quackery is alive and well. It might even be thriving! Last week, my blog was spammed a total of 18 times from an individual in Ghana who promised cures for pretty much everything, ranging from Herpes to HIV. Diabetes got a mention, of course. Fast-forward to today and something involving salmon placentas and stem cells arrived in my inbox. Those aren't the only incidents, either. Throughout my time using the Internet, some 26 years, that kind of quackery has been an almost constant event. 

I think I'm well enough informed to never have fallen for such nonsense even in the early days. It's persistence and longevity does worry me, however. If there was never a buyer for such ridiculous advice then there wouldn't be a market. Since the dawn of the Internet, I wonder how many desperate people have become seriously ill or died from the advice of Quacks? It's terrifying to consider.

Not all advice is quackery, of course. Mansplaining, for example isn't usually a money making exercise. A keyboard and an urge to feel important and knowledgeable is enough motivation. Incidentally, men rarely mansplain to me. Make of that what you will. Advice, even in well meaning forms can be a dangerous thing. As Diabetics, we administer dangerous drugs to ourselves and just a small miscalculation can have dramatic, perhaps fatal, results. 

When it comes to the Internet, especially social media it's still the Wild West for medical advice. There are warnings on some platforms when keywords are picked up. Covid is a great example and Facebook appears to be taking some notice to SOME problems surrounding dangerous advice. Twitter is not and that's really disappointing. It's easy to report tweets and accounts for lots of terrible things but when it comes to dangerous, misinformation around health? Nothing. It's left to us as Twitter users to decide on what is correct and good information and what might put us in our graves. That needs to be addressed as a matter of urgency. Stronger content policing would serve social media platforms and the users well but if that will happen is debatable. Why? Well, content means views and views mean ad' impressions. Impressions mean income. Are the social media platforms really interested in taking care of us or taking care of their shareholders? 

I feel the eyes of the Freedom Of Speech brigade, muttering something about the "Thought Police" because they can't grasp how their bright ideas expressed through the Internet might damage others. They likely never will. Did anybody change their opinions and admit to being wrong on the Internet?

I think the Internet and social media are great places to get wonderful information and support. They're imperfect, of course and so is general society. I encourage treading carefully when it comes to your health and online advice. Would you listen to a stranger in the park in regards to your insulin dosage? I didn't think so. What's different to the stranger on Twitter?

I feel like this little blog has become a public safety information message which the majority probably don't need. If nobody was buying those pancreas leeches, though... 

Thank you so much for reading this blog. I do appreciate your visit and your support. As you might know, I LOVE COFFEE! So I've teamed up with a thing called Buy Me A Coffee. If you enjoy my content and appreciate the time it takes to create such things then you can buy me a coffee! If you leave your Twitter @ name when you buy me a coffee, I will personally thank you. If you'd rather be anonymous then that's totally cool. Thanks for the caffeine!

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Stop Diabetes Stigma! But How?

"Stigma" is frequently heard in reference to Diabetes, especially in social media circles. Sometimes, an image is tweeted in all it's horrifyingly inaccurate and stigmatising glory. It doesn't take very long for the community, be it DOC, GBDoc or otherwise to pick up on such tweets before a torrent of strongly worded replies are sent. Often, the stigmatising tweets are recycled or edited slightly to suit the agenda of the tweeter. In my four years in Diabetes Twitter, I've seen that happen several times. The 'Ice cream cone for a leg' image has certainly been knocking around for a while and often resurfaces amid a fresh round of anger and vilification.

In four years a lot can happen. On the Internet and in the world of social media, MUCH can happen. Technology changes, attitudes change, we grow, we improve - don't we? I'm beginning to think that we haven't when it comes to stigma.

I remember the ice cream cone, and other such images and tweets, from the early days of my Twitter account. The outpouring of disgust and anger then was heartening as it was towards subsequent tweets of the same ilk. Now, in 2021 I'm beginning to think that we as a community of people living with diabetes, are wasting our time. Social Media is often described as "shouting into the void" and it feels very much like that when it comes to calling out stigma because, quite simply, nothing is changing in that regard.

Perhaps you're a keen advocate for people living with diabetes and you think that you're doing everything you can to stop the stigma surrounding the condition by expressing your anger, correcting the offending tweet and retweeting the message. Perhaps your friends notice your retweet and hop aboard the latest round of disgust and corrections and vents. And that feels great, you've had your say, somebody was wrong on the Internet and you told them! Back to posting black and white pictures of yourself or discussing last night's Line Of Duty. I've done that. I'll probably do it again.

You're probably understanding what I'm getting at here. The expressions of anger and correcting such stigmatising tweets are all fine and dandy but they are not changing anything. Other such "campaigning" continues but still the world is faced with the same issues; skin colour, sex, sexuality, disability, age, status, and on it goes. 

(Bizarrely we see those who are very vocal about discrimination, offer their disgust at stigma and the discrimination which they face, on one hand while talking disparagingly about skin colour, sex and age on the other. Something has been lost in the fight for equality, somewhere.)

If we, as individuals cannot stop the stigma surrounding diabetes then who can? Perhaps the charities and organisations that represent and support us!? A great idea. I thought I'd do a little searching around and I couldn't really find a great deal from the major diabetes charities in the UK in regards to the stigma faced by diabetics and the work they're doing to reduce it. I must be missing something.

I ran a poll on Twitter; Here it is 

I know, a small sample size but enough people took the time to vote and give their view here to make the results very concerning. Over a third of those voting think that charities are not doing a thing to help reduce the stigma we face. 2% think they're doing everything they can. 

Could it be that the charities are not aware of this issue? Perhaps. Perhaps they'll be tagged into a tweet for this blog and, indeed, more of the stigmatising tweets that we face in future. Then maybe we'll see some real work and real results when it comes to reducing diabetes stigma. 

Thank you so much for reading this blog. I do appreciate your visit and your support. As you might know, I LOVE COFFEE! So I've teamed up with a thing called Buy Me A Coffee. If you enjoy my content and appreciate the time it takes to create such things then you can buy me a coffee! If you leave your Twitter @ name when you buy me a coffee, I will personally thank you. If you'd rather be anonymous then that's totally cool. Thanks for the caffeine!

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Diabetes Community Fragments

 

It hasn't been very long since my last blog and I'm glad about that. I seem to be slipping into the habit of writing one or two blogs per week. I write when something related to diabetes is on my mind. Often it's topical, such as the last blog about Diabetes Jokes, sometimes it's simply related to an experience that I'd like to get off my chest. I'm glad it hasn't been long since my last blog because that particular incident ended on a positive note and I feel like I can move away from that, at least for the time being! and talk about something else.

I intended to write about peer support in the Diabetes Community, over the Easter weekend. That was put on the back burner until today. Now, it's time to boil up that pot!

There has been a lot of chatter stemming from some of the larger Twitter accounts about peer support within DOC, GBDoc and many other area specific communities, of late. What usually happens when a few larger accounts "make some noise" is that many others suffer a severe case of FOMO. What on earth is FOMO? It's Fear Of Missing Out. From there, those accounts will usually jump aboard the bandwagon, whether it is positive or negative in nature. FOMO is a real thing for some diabetes related accounts, as is the need to stay relevant and have content. I'll get back to that on another occasion because I'm digressing and that is a subject for a blog all on its own.

Peer support! Yes. We love it, don't we? The drum that I've been banging around peer support is very much a beaten one. I've spoken about the positives and the huge impact it has had on my diabetes management, from overcoming social anxieties to accessing diabetes technology and everything in between, not least gaining lots of friends along the way. I am massively grateful for my peers, mostly within #GBDoc #IREDoc and #NIDoc and I will happily give those people my time and support whenever I am able.

It sounds fantastic. It mostly is. There are, however things I'd like to note and offer some caution over:

- Peer support isn't for everybody.

Just as tech isn't for everybody and we're all different in the way we manage our diabetes, it's important to realise that peer support won't be welcomed by everyone. To have it offered and easily accessible is wonderful but it should never be forced on a PWD. As peer support talk is appearing in healthcare circles, I am very interested to see how this is brought into conversation between HCP and patient.

- Fragmented communities.

It's a schoolyard out there. Ready for a few negatives? Envy, Bullying, Harassment, Stalkers, Drama, Sex, Lies and Videotape!  All of those things can happen in any splinter of society. The more people that are clustered together, the more chance of something nasty happening. From the nasty incidents, the communities become fragmented as individuals "take sides". The subtweets begin, the DMs are sent... sigh, it can get very teenagery even among mature adults. Eventually, people grow tired of the drama and aggression and they leave the community or lock their accounts or simply block those who are the sources of negativity. Personally, I'm a blocker. 

- Leader of the gang.

Does a community need a leader or leaders? I've debated the issue with friends many times. I'm swayed towards No. I've heard some people describe others as "Prominent members of GBDoc" in reference to holding their views in higher regard. That sits uncomfortably with me and has a strong odour of The Old Boy's Club about it. It hints at a pecking order which shouldn't exist on a free to use social media platform. Status and follower numbers do not influence me. I think it's important to hold each other in the same high regard unless words or actions indicate otherwise. So, should Peer Support "Leaders" become a thing then I think we could be in danger of following the path of Advocates and frequently heard public speakers. Which path? Read this blog: Hearing Voices I really hope we don't repeat the mistake of repeating the voices, should the NHS begin selecting peer support leaders.

I've expressed some caution there but please do not be put off diabetes communities. Where ever you find one, which might be helpful to you in managing your diabetes, join in and engage. For the most part, they are wonderful places with wonderful people.

Thank you so much for reading this blog. I do appreciate your visit and your support. As you might know, I LOVE COFFEE! So I've teamed up with a thing called Buy Me A Coffee. If you enjoy my content and appreciate the time it takes to create such things then you can buy me a coffee! If you leave your Twitter @ name when you buy me a coffee, I will personally thank you. If you'd rather be anonymous then that's totally cool. Thanks for the caffeine!

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