People and Places

This section focuses on the role of social support and self-advocacy in your diabetes care. This includes strategies for managing relationship challenges related to diabetes, tools for managing your diabetes in social situations, and resources for developing a support system, including connecting with others who have diabetes. Additionally, this section allows you to incorporate resources related to your diabetes care that can help address family and household dynamics as well as peer and intimate relationships.

Positive Support Networks

Brene Brown TED Talk — Diabetes & Vulnerability Worksheet
This worksheet accompanies Brene Brown’s TED talk addressing connection, shame, vulnerability, and wholehearted living. Use these questions to guide your thoughts on how vulnerability plays a role in your relationship with diabetes.
Components of Support
This worksheet allows you to identify who in your life provides you emotional, social, instrumental, informational, and affirmational support and how these individuals can play a role in supporting you in your diabetes care.

Self-Advocacy

Loved Ones with Diabetes
This worksheet provides space for you to reflect on how a loved one’s diabetes management affects your own.
Managing Social Situations: Events
This resource provides you with suggestions regarding food choices when eating out and hosting social events, including holiday-specific tips.
Managing Social Situations: People
This worksheet provides suggestions for managing peer pressure surrounding food choices.
Talking to Family and Friends
This worksheet provides you with tips for how to communicate with your family and friends to get the support you need.

Community Resources

You can discuss and find resources in your community — like recreation centers, food banks, or even a local ADA chapter — with your therapist. You can also independently search for information about local groups or organizations for people with diabetes.

Connecting With Others With Diabetes

Check out “People & Places” within the Resources tab for ways to connect with other people who have diabetes.

Other Resources

College Diabetes Network
Offers digital support for young adults including preparing for college, studying abroad, and other topics. There are chapters at various colleges and universities throughout the country — you can start a chapter at your school if they do not already have one!

Diabetes Mine
An online community of individuals with diabetes that covers almost every facet of life.

The Mighty
A safe, supportive community for people facing health challenges and the people who care for them. They not only post articles relevant to current events, but also have different pages that you can follow and post to (similar to Facebook). There is one for type 1 diabetes and another for diabetes in general.

Check out “People & Places” within the Resources tab for a list of blogs and social media accounts across various platforms which are specifically for people with type 1 diabetes.