No, this is not a post to encourage you to check the labels on food you purchase or consume. This is about something that has been going through my mind for a while. It bothered me when I visited my doctor. In response to my improved blood sugar control he said, "You're still a diabetic". I think of it every time I craft a DM to a recent follower. And I think of it hundreds of time every year in our home care business as we help people living with various diseases or disabilities.
The inspiration to actually write this blog post came in the form of a tweet by Deepak Chopra this morning: To live without labels is ultimate freedom. Seven words of sublime common sense.
When we place a label on someone we automatically associate some preconceived notion of what that label means with that person. The effect is the same regardless of whether the label describes race, disability, disease, or preference. It suggests some form of prejudice, regardless of our intentions. We may mistrust, be curious, or even pity the subject of our automatic judgment. These assumptions are not fair. Not one of us would be happy to have them made about ourselves.
So the next time you meet someone who has to count her carbs, test her blood sugar, calculate a correct bolus dose (accounting for activity), and inject insulin multiple times each day; remember - she is not a "diabetic". She is a person living with diabetes, and she wants to live a full life and achieve all of her dreams. Just like you.
Well said Brian. It is interesting that the diabetic label is so commonly used than any other chronic or otherwise disease and I have to admit I use it quite often myself, for example I will say am a T2 diabetic rather than I have T2 diabetes without a second thought. I couldn't trace where or when this started but its just one of those things. Diabetes has enough misconceptions as it is and maybe it time we stopped labeling ourselves before we expect others to stop.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Ronnie. Great points. Leadership from those of us with diabetes is a great start.
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