Taking an interest in your loved one’s diabetes, whether type 1 diabetes or type 2 diabetes, is one thing; taking control is another. “If you’re constantly telling them what to do or repeatedly admonishing them, they’ll see it as a challenge to their control,” Perlmuter says. A take-charge attitude is rarely the kind of diabetes help your loved one is looking for.
Here are some dos and don’ts for providing diabetes support that works for everyone.
Don’ts When You’re Offering Diabetes Help
- Don’t play doctor. Unless diabetes is your field, you shouldn’t be giving medical advice, especially if it’s unsolicited. You may mean well, but many popular beliefs about diabetes are outdated, and you could be offering bad advice.
- Don’t bring up other people you know. Maybe your grandmother had type 2 diabetes and went blind. Maybe your friend’s mother-in-law had type 1 diabetes and ended up with kidney disease. Though you may know many people with diabetes, it doesn’t help someone trying to manage diabetes to hear other people’s horror stories.
- Don’t stare.
- Don’t be tactless. You might think a comment like “Look at it this way: It could be worse; you could have a fatal disease” offers comfort. But in reality, that’s not the kind of reassurance that will make anyone feel better, says William Polonsky, PhD, of the Behavioral Diabetes Institute in San Diego. It’s a thoughtless remark because it implies that diabetes isn’t serious. Both type 1 diabetes and type 2 diabetes have to be taken very seriously so that complications can be controlled and avoided.
Read More at - Dos and Don'ts: Supporting Loved Ones With Diabetes
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