I want to thank the many people who responded to last week’s posting** on talking publicly about being diabetic (lots of emails). It is heartening to know that most of you are quite open about your diabetes, at least in your personal lives. (Although I need to keep my eyes peeled in public restrooms –- our No.1 refuge, it seems.)
A number of people were skeptical about “talking” at work, and suggested a “need-to-know” policy to avoid any branding. A few people said it was important to tell your boss, for sure, but not until you’re through interviewing and well established in the job (!)
I even got some sympathy for my “not wanting to DEAL with it” issue: one apparently well-adjusted fellow Type 1 writes: “I completely understand what you mean … so many people know so little about diabetes, and what they do ‘know’ is about their 77 year old aunt with Type 2.” Precisely!
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A quick note of reaction to the new dLife TV show: most of us seem to agree it was boring, and clearly “a drug company/equipment sales pitch from start to finish,” as The Diabetes Blog reader Lance Lavery points out. Disappointed!
(**Publisher’s Note: My March 13 posting “Out of the Closet, or NOT” has also been reprinted with permission on the DiabetesMonitor.com.)
Hiya Amy. I missed your first post on the work subject, so can I put my thoughts here, where readers might be more likely to see them? :checks nervously for the Blog Police:
Okay. Seems safe. I’m extremely fortunate to work at a company so progressive (at least in this area) that when a colleague disclosed to management that he has AIDS–that is, the full-blown disease, not only HIV–he received unmitigated support and experienced no negative impact on his career. (Interestingly, this very colleague told me upon learning that I have diabetes that he would rather have his disease than mine–but that’s a tale for another day…) So I haven’t had to deal with the grim possibilities of discrimination that others experience. That must add enormously to the stress of coping with the disease.
I’m also fortunate in that I have a private office where I can check BG and deal with my pump without retreating to a public restroom. These factors make disclosure a matter of choice. On the whole, I’ve leaned in favor of talking, selectively. For me, not acknowledging my diabetes felt shaming, as though I have something to hide, a defect. I hated that feeling. So when I’m comfortable–and when I have the energy to do the explaining, which is definitely NOT all the time–I do talk about it. I’ve received a range of responses, from empathetic to less so (reference response of AIDS-afflicted colleague above, but hell, who am I to judge?). I’ve found it fascinating to observe what these responses reveal about the people I’m talking with. Diabetes, in this way, is yet another window on the personality.
I also believe there’s a safety risk in maintaining complete silence about having this disease. Am very grateful that I don’t have to weigh that risk against the risk of possible damage to my career.
Hey Violet,
No Blog Police here! Thanks so much for this encouraging report from the trenches. You are one of the FEW and LUCKY to be working for such a progressive company. And you are right, diabetes does give us another window into personalities: our own and others. I’m pretty much still OUT THERE with my diabetes, and the various reactions are always interesting!