LOVE DON'T JUDGE

Diabetes Action Month, November 2020, was a hugely successful campaign that raised awareness and encouraged positive action for people with all types of diabetes.

With the theme Love Don’t Judge, we encouraged New Zealanders to be kind and to “wear their heart on their sleeve” for diabetes.

This message was strongly encouraged by well-known New Zealanders through the campaign video, including Dr Ashley Bloomfield, Mike McRoberts, Mike Puru, Dave Letele (AKA Buttabean), Jazz Thornton, and the Mai FM Morning Crew. They were joined by Diabetes NZ Auckland branch’s Susan Moala’eua and Iliana Fusitua.

Diabetes NZ is grateful to those who volunteered their time to be part of the campaign video and spread this important message, and to everyone who wore their heart on their sleeve for Diabetes Action Month.

2020 Emotional Wellbeing Survey

In 2020, for the first time, Diabetes NZ took a deep dive into the emotional wellbeing of people living with diabetes. We distributed a survey widely through our networks and found out just how prevalent diabetes distress, burnout, and mental health concerns are in our community. We also discovered that Covid-19 had increased diabetes distress, stigma, and discrimination.

Diabetes NZ CEO Heather Verry was interviewed about the survey results, diabetes distress, and Diabetes Action Month on One News, Newshub at 6, Newstalk ZB, Radio New Zealand, and TV3’s The Café. Additionally, stories about diabetes and diabetes distress were reported on Stuff.co.nz, NZ Herald, Mai FM, and local news outlets around the country as part of this campaign.

Thank you to everyone who took part in the survey and bravely shared your feelings and experiences. This helped us understand more about how diabetes affects your everyday life and informed the development of our new Diabetes Distress resource.

SURVEY RESULTS

• 81% of people surveyed had experienced diabetes distress

• 69% had experienced diabetes burnout

• 44% had been diagnosed with a mental health disorder (for example, depression, anxiety, or an eating disorder) since being diagnosed with diabetes

• 56% felt concerned about their risk of severe illness from Covid-19

• 45% experienced an increase in diabetes distress as a result of Covid-19

• 14% experienced increased stigma or discrimination due to Covid-19

Negative attitudes and a lack of understanding of diabetes are big factors in the emotional wellbeing of people living with diabetes. In fact, there is so much misinformation out there that many people with diabetes keep their condition a secret. If we can’t tell people about diabetes for fear of prejudice and stigma, how are we going to get support for the huge emotional burden people living with diabetes are facing?

– DIABETES NZ CEO HEATHER VERRY

DIABETES DISTRESS RESOURCE

We now know that 81% of New Zealanders with diabetes have experienced diabetes distress – the emotional burden of living with and managing diabetes.

If you are experiencing diabetes distress, you may feel overwhelmed by the demands of living with diabetes, concerned or afraid that you are “failing” with your diabetes management, sad about living with diabetes, worried about your risk of long-term complications, frustrated and angry that you can’t predict or “control” diabetes from one day to the next, or guilty and ashamed when your diabetes management gets “off track”.

Our new resource is designed to help if you or a loved one live with this common condition, with tips and tricks to help you get through.

Visit the Diabetes NZ website for more information and to download the resource: www.diabetes.org.nz/resources-1

FACEBOOK LIVE

Diabetes Action Month 2020 also saw our first Facebook Live sessions take place. The four live interviews focused on diabetes distress and mental health concerns related to diabetes.

We were fortunate to have incredible health and diabetes psychology specialists join us for the sessions – including Anna Friis, Kiralee Schache, and Jane Speight of the Australian Centre for Behavioural Research in Diabetes.

Special guests Ruby McGill, Brett and Angel Rennall, Emily and Eddie Writes, and Madeleine Lord shared their own experiences with diabetes and emotional health, and our very own Matire Ropiha from Diabetes NZ Taranaki, Natalie Hanna from Diabetes Auckland Youth, and Diabetes NZ’s Liz Dutton added their expertise and experiences to the conversation.

If you missed the sessions, you can still view them on the Diabetes NZ Facebook page, YouTube channel, or at www.diabetes.org.nz.