It’s time we stop making jokes about diabetes and other chronic diseases

Language matters. As a type 1 diabetic, it’s important that I share how people can discuss diabetes and other chronic illnesses without being offensive.

Diabetes is a common disease, with over 30 million people living with it in America. Of those who have diabetes, type 2 is the most common. When it comes to me, I have type 1 diabetes and have lived with it for 13 years.

While the effects of type 2 diabetes can sometimes be reversed by lifestyle choices, type 1 is permanent and people with it are dependent on injectable insulin to survive. It is an autoimmune disease where your body attacks your insulin producing cells, eventually making it so your body can’t make any insulin at all. Those living with type 1 diabetes have to constantly monitor themselves; for some, this means multiple shots of insulin a day or an insulin pump for others, and dozens of finger pricks to check glucose levels daily.

It took me some time to realize how serious diabetes is, as many do not know much about it. While of course there are many chronic illnesses out there that are even more serious, diabetes isn’t going to go away for me and it impacts my life daily.

It’s not something I ever considered a disability, even though it can count as one. But these things are complicated and each person deals with their chronic illnesses differently and approaches and copes in different manners.

This brings me to one of my biggest issues with diabetes, and it has nothing to do with how it affects my body. Instead, it’s how others discuss it — and truly all chronic illnesses.

We’ve come such a long way in how we discuss women’s rights, LGBTQ rights, racial equality and more. There are also many disability activists who are trying to raise awareness today about the language we use regarding disabilities.

Now, I am in no way trying to say that being diabetic is the same thing as some of the above-mentioned groups. However, like anyone within any marginalized group, I’m hyper aware of the language people use, often in passing, regarding diabetes. The language I’ve come across ranges from harmful and disrespectful to fat shaming.

For example, I used to work in a candy store. Often times, people would come into the store and say things like, “If I worked here, I’d be diabetic.” Obviously, these people didn’t know I was diabetic myself, and they didn’t mean any harm, but the words would always sting a little.

My diabetes impacts my life and often makes it more difficult. I didn’t get it by eating too much candy, and I don’t have any control over having the disease or not. Even outside of a candy store setting, you might hear someone say, “Eating that will give you diabetes” when referencing foods high in carbs and sugar. While, usually, these comments refer to type 2 diabetes, they impact all diabetics.

Unfortunately, comments like these come with an air of fat shaming, which on its own is harmful and mean. Anyone who brings up diabetes in such a way does not fully understand what the disease is.

It’s absolutely time that people stopped making jokes and comments about chronic illnesses, such as diabetes — especially when the jokes or comments sound as if diabetes is a punishment for eating too many treats.

Again, while each person’s experience with the disease is unique, it’s not something anyone asks for or seeks out. To poke fun of it in any way is cruel. Those living with diabetes need awareness and support, not negative commentary or stereotypes.

I know we all slip up and say things we don’t fully mean, or may not understand the full impact of our words. But I feel it’s an easy rule to follow to not speak about chronic illnesses in a way that further stigmatizes them.