Device Drama
Your CGM alarm blares during a silent test and someone groans, "Turn that off!" The best, quickest way to shut down the awkwardness is to...
Say It's my battery, I'll be good in a sec.
(State the facts calmly instead of hiding the device or getting defensive)
You are at a friend’s house and everyone is grabbing pizza. You feel pressured to skip taking your insulin shot because you don’t want everyone to stop talking and stare. What is a stealthy or confident way to handle this?
Go to the bathroom to do it, or do it at the table confidently while continuing the conversation. (Never skip insulin to fit in).
A kid at lunch says, "Don't eat that cookie, you have diabetes, you're going to pass out." What is the correct fact to tell them?
People with Type 1 Diabetes can eat sugar, they just have to take the right amount of insulin for it.
True or False: If someone stares at your pump or CGM sensor on your arm, it always means they are judging you or being mean.
False. Most of the time, people are just curious or confused because they don't know what it is
Your friends are pressuring you to try a high-sugar energy drink. They say, "Come on, a little bit won't kill you." What is a solid way to say no?
No thanks, that stuff wrecks my blood sugar and I don't feel like crashing later
Someone starts a rumor in the locker room that you got diabetes because you ate too much candy when you were younger. How do you correct this myth?
T1D is an autoimmune disease. Our body doesn’t make insulin
sugar or lifestyle did not cause it.
Someone in gym class points at your pump and says, "What is that, a pager from the 90s? You look weird."
It’s actually my insulin pump, it keeps me alive!
This type of peer pressure doesn't come from people actively teasing you.
It’s the pressure you put on yourself to blend in
Internalized peer pressure
True or False: If a friend with T1D is being teased, the best thing you can do as an ally is start a physical fight with the bully.
False. The best thing is to support your friend, call out the behavior calmly, or help them walk away and get a teacher if necessary.
This is the word for a negative, unfair stereotype or belief that people attach to medical devices or illnesses like T1D.
Stigma
If you hide your low blood sugar symptoms at a school dance because you don't want to leave the dance floor, you are letting peer pressure put you in danger of this medical emergency.
What is a Severe Low / Passing out / Hypoglycemia
Your friend's blood sugar is crashing (low), and a bully is hogging the vending machine or making fun of them while they try to get juice. What should an ally immediately do?
Get the juice immediately, get an adult because a low blood sugar is important!