Tell others

Telling people that you have diabetes is important. And it will make you feel better and more confident.

We know lots of students with diabetes do not do this. The shyness around telling others about your diabetes is understandable but not good. In the end, you will feel better when you tell others.

A major acute risk of diabetes is hypoglycemia. Especially when you are in a new situation (e.g., new accomodation, new friends, new foods, different types of stress), you are more likely to suffer from out-of-range glucose values.

Because of this, you are more likely to rely on help from others. They can only help well if they know what is wrong with you.

Tell at the very least the following people:

Most people want to help people in need. Do not be shy to tell people.

Once you have learned to tell a few people to tell about your diabetes, you will find that it is actually getting easier.

Here is a way to do it:

Start a conversation:

"Hey, I just wanted to tell you something important. I actually have diabetes. You might have heard of it?"

That way, you open the door for a conversation. Many people will have heard about it, so that makes it easier. Then explain the key things:

"It means that I can do most things normally, but I just need to look better after myself than most other people. I need to take medication several times a day. I need this typically when I eat."

Once you have said those things, people will ask and the conversation will just go on.