"As the month of May comes to a close, I [Leigh Fickling] find myself reflective upon the fact that May is Mental Health Awareness Month. Yet, in the diabetes world, we don’t talk much about mental health, do we? Most of our diabetes chit-chat is about pumps or syringes and different types of insulin. We babble on about watching blood glucose levels with meters or continuous glucose monitors. We gossip about juice boxes and glucose tabs and diabetes gadgets. We post and celebrate about FDA approvals for new diabetes technology. But, rarely do we post on social media about how diabetes can make us feel like we have reached the end of our rope and wonder whether we might need to seek professional help. Why? Why does it feel ok to reach out to strangers on the internet for help and advice about the best way to treat a low blood sugar during your daughter’s softball game but not ok to reach out when you think that your child’s diabetes might be making you depressed?
It’s time to stop keeping these feelings secret. We shouldn’t be afraid to talk about it. It’s ok to admit that sometimes, you’re not ok."
