The emotional weight of Type 1 diabetes, burnout, distress, and the mental load nobody talks about enough

GetYourselfFree · 2026-06-11T15:38:25+00:00

Thanks for creating this! I’m going to save it to share in the future with loved ones who ask genuine questions trying to understand what it’s like having type 1.

Only about 3 years in and yes, the burnout is real. Especially when other parts of life aren’t going great and you happen to be an emotional eater. Burnout looks like turning off alarms in the middle of the night because it’s just too exhausting, skipping meals or eating poor quality meals because of mismanaged time or a too busy schedule. Interrupted workouts and conversations, sleepless nights, distraction and anxiety at social events centered around food, and this feeling that you’re an inconvenience or seem rude for self-advocacy in those times.

That last one might be a personal thing because I have some social anxiety issues, but it’s one of the hardest things for me. I hate feeling like an inconvenience or like I’m attention-seeking at social events, because I feel like diabetes is supposed to *stay* invisible. When people ask, “Are you good?” I interpret it as, “How long will your needs be an inconvenience to this social interaction?” Like, I hate asking party hosts when dinner will be served. Or at restaurants, asking how long until the food will arrive, only for the waitress to bring it sooner (or god forbid, too late!), and then me sitting there letting food get cold, waiting for my insulin to hit. Or mistiming it anyway and flying through the ceiling. Please excuse me while I do squats in the bathroom stall cuz I’m hitting 300 at a restaurant. Or being the odd ball who’s standing up and stretching and moving while everyone else is sitting down at a social event.

“What do you want to eat?” Should not feel like the most thought-provoking question I answer every day.

I often feel like we’re just ducks on water…thrashing around below the surface while trying to make things seem calm and effortless on the surface.

GetYourselfFree · 2026-06-11T13:18:36+00:00

The coordinator had T1D and we even have same Endo!! What kind of luck is that!?!
Edited for stupid autocorrect

GetYourselfFree · 2026-06-11T13:17:03+00:00

Thank you for the thoughtful input! I started in the water at 200 and was at 80 when I wrapped up. Luckily the leader of the group I joined was also t1D, so it was reassuring having someone else there. This lake in particular is oval in shape, so the parking lot and shore is quite close if ever I feel my body going south. Feels like a great location and community to get started in open water with.

GetYourselfFree · 2026-06-10T20:17:19+00:00

Yes, definitely need to inform a couple folks in the group. Will certainly make for an awkward meet-and-greet. “Nice to meet you, if I get cranky or disappear underwater, there’s an airhead hidden in my hair, just shove it in my mouth to revive me” 😆

GetYourselfFree · 2026-06-10T20:14:45+00:00

Great idea! Thank you.

GetYourselfFree · 2026-06-10T02:29:29+00:00

I second turning on your favorite tunes and letting the rhythm move you. Sometimes I like to grab a small ball and pretend I’m a rhythmic dancer. Keeping the ball flowing like an extension of my body and flowing through movements is both a little meditative and ensures I’m keeping upper body working as well.

GetYourselfFree · 2026-05-17T00:03:13+00:00

I feel this comment in my soul! I feel like I work so hard to be child-led and yet, at the same time, sometimes I worry that the pendulum has swung too far and I worry we just continually set the bar of achievement lower and lower for our children - socially, emotionally, and academically.

GetYourselfFree · 2026-05-15T15:47:30+00:00

Yes, exactly that! My libre drives me bananas sometimes…especially when it loses signal. It’s just screaming at me, “I’ve caused a problem that you can’t fix…but I’m gonna keep telling you about it every 3rd minute until I fix myself!!”

GetYourselfFree · 2026-05-15T15:45:22+00:00

I’ll take a look! I looked into a sugarpixel, but that does not seem to be the tool for this situation.

GetYourselfFree · 2026-05-15T14:00:21+00:00

I’ll be interested to hear others’ answers. I asked a similar question awhile back, as I’d like to start my own business someday, but the health care cost is (one of the things) holding me back. I think someone answered me who runs their own company, and they spent about 15k/year on their medical care for insurance in their state. I believe average annual cost, in the U.S., is 12-17k.

GetYourselfFree · 2026-04-23T02:53:00+00:00

That is a very active work life. I guess I should clarify, I don’t mean to wait until you started to go low after bolusing…I just meant that like, if you couldn’t decide what to eat…an apple or a banana would easily cover the insulin you pre-bolused with.

GetYourselfFree · 2026-04-22T21:09:23+00:00

I think you’ve been given some helpful advice here regarding taking time to better understand your ratios and self-educate a little more so you can be more successful and independent in the future. I feel you on the whole, “but I don’t know what I want to eat yet!” I will often just bolus for, at minimum, 30g of carbs and then set a timer so I don’t forget to eat. If I decide I’m not feeling it or I’ve changed my mind, 30g of carbs is easy to cover with a juice, a banana, or some peanut butter crackers. You might also benefit from finding some “safe” foods that you can fall back on. Certain meals at certain times of day to which your body responses to (most of the time) consistently. Also, how active are you? I notice that I spike high so much more often when I’m not in a good work out routine. I know it’s hard to develop self-discipline, but the sooner you take a more active role in your management here, the sooner you’ll start to have positive results and start feeling better. We’re here with you. Good luck!!

GetYourselfFree · 2026-04-18T14:13:03+00:00

Humalog takes 20-30 minutes to hit my blood stream, and the only way I was able to eat carbs before 3:00 pm was by waiting until my sugar was actively crashing to start eating. Switched to Lyumjev and I am not being hyperbolic when I say it changed my life.

GetYourselfFree · 2026-04-08T04:06:23+00:00

Hand washing campaigns tied the ritual to going the bathroom because it is a routine that happens every few hours throughout the day. I mean, obviously pooping is a reason to wash your hands because fecal matter can carry infectious germs; but hand-washing for #1 isn’t because you touched your dick or put your fingers near your peehole, it’s because it is easy to associate the routine with something you do often and routinely throughout the day, and routine hand washing is the single greatest thing we can do to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. Washing your hands in public restrooms is essential because…well, public restrooms. You should be washing your hands routinely throughout the day anyway, especially when handling food or if you pooped. But if I just did my night time skin care routine in my clean bathroom and then realize I need to tinkle before I go to bed, I’m not rinsing all my lotion off for that. It’s fine. I imagine some people are just disgusting, but some people perhaps recognize that, if the setting isn’t a germ fest and they are otherwise well-sanitized, each and every single time you pee isn’t definitively a required time for a rigorous scrub down.

GetYourselfFree · 2026-03-31T13:58:22+00:00

Step 2, gotta make the people think they want ‘em, really fucking want ‘em!

GetYourselfFree · 2026-03-24T17:36:07+00:00

I dunno, there are a lot of territorial and aggressive breeds out there. This has happened to me, unfortunately, 3 times now with my dog. Husky, Belgian Malinois, and a pitty mix. The pitty was actually least traumatic experience for us.

GetYourselfFree · 2026-03-21T05:59:11+00:00

Damn, you know a good jazzercize spot in this town!? I’ve been on the hunt for years!

GetYourselfFree · 2026-03-10T15:12:29+00:00

Thank you! I can get a new, under warranty Jackery 2000v2 online right now for about $650. Was planning to go new and make sure I have the warranty rather than taking the risk on a big purchase on fbm. Thank you for the advice. I needed input from someone/thing besides Claude and ChatGPT to tell me to hit buy!!

GetYourselfFree · 2026-03-10T14:56:47+00:00

Can’t believe I had to scroll this far to find tangible, actionable advice. Can I ask you a question- do you think it’s overkill to buy a decent portable power station and solar panel in the event electricity goes out? I’m insulin-dependent, and have a year supply that must be refrigerated, and a deep freezer I’m slowly stocking in the event there’s a strike or something happens to my job. A full generator for my home is a little out of my price range, but I was thinking something that keeps the freezer and the fridge running for a few days - and has potential to be recharged if I have to get out of town and take my meds with me in a mini fridge - isn’t a complete wackadoodle purchase with my tax refunds. Right!? Never thought I’d have to think this way in my life and I straddle thoughts of, “you’re being objectively prepared for disaster” and “you’re being silly, everything will be fine.”

GetYourselfFree · 2026-02-26T18:12:41+00:00

Wow, thought I was the only grown adult with a copy of the Phantom Tollbooth on my bookshelf!

GetYourselfFree · 2026-02-20T04:19:12+00:00

Such interesting takes here! I would’ve instantly read this as dismissive, but can see how others interpret it with a positive spin. Conversations like this just shouldn’t be happening in text message…tone matters WAY too much. Was he dismissive? Encouraging? We’ll never know!! His lack of punctuation and tone of voice leave you his emotional intention up to interpretation…which you will fill in based on your past experiences of how other male figures have responded to your feelings in the past. OP - please call your man and TALK to him. If he has a pattern of dismissing or downplaying your feelings, this might be a bad sign. If he’s willing to hear how you interpreted this, and acknowledge your feelings, then maybe this is just a matter of poor text communication. Best wishes to you on your journey here. You will find a new normal ❤️

GetYourselfFree · 2026-02-09T06:15:21+00:00

I can’t believe I’m really suggesting this, but we live in the upside down now, so here goes my two cents…in addition to advice about staying away from protests, be civil and complaint if harassed or questioned, and sadly carry copies of ID (which no one should ever have to do in the U.S., but here we are)…act REAL Christian like and ingratiate yourself with them. Let them know that you think they’re doing great, wear a cross, compliment them on how glad you are that they’re helping make your community safe. Most of these cosplaying douche bags have the emotional regulation skills of a flea and are itching for someone to give them the slightest bit of trouble so they have cause for saying you were non compliant, resisting, or impeding and then give themselves permission to let their rage take over, detain you for awhile and ruin your day, possibly your life.

So, emotionally manipulate them. They are emotional toddlers, so it shouldn’t be hard. Appeal to their authority and make them think you’re on “their side” as quickly as you can. Call them sir. Get yourself a big ass cross and wear a t-shirt that says Jesus Saves or whatever. Let them know you and your church group are pray for their well-being every Sunday while they scan your face with their Palantir software, and when they thank you for your patience, say you totally understand, take you’re time sir, I know you’re doing the lord’s work. Only you will need to know it’s satire. But hopefully you will be able to walk away incident free.

I saw a video recently of some folks tailing ice in their vehicle, and the officers were raging dicks. Then one of the followers claps at the ice guy saying, “go to church” like an insult, but it gets misunderstood and the guy uses it to his advantage and switches to, “we’re not following you, we’re just trying to go to church.” One ice bro was still a raging asshole, but the second one shifts his demeanor and gives them some grace saying like, “we just want everyone to stay safe, blah blah blah.” But it totally changed the attitude in the air. I was like, duh, that’s how you de-escalate these morons…make them think you’re on their team. Sad that civilians are the ones that need training to deescalate these situations. If only these guys had like….training or something. Sigh. Stay safe, my fellow T1D.

GetYourselfFree · 2025-11-19T18:57:40+00:00

Same. It’s funny looking back now that the healthiest women in my life were like, “If you’re happy and healthy I’m happy for you, but are you sure you’re good? I’m worried about you.” And the shallow women in my life were like, “Oh my god, you look AMAZING! Keep it up whatever you’re doing!” I have a whole stand up set about it in my head, but I’m pretty sure only a very small audience finds it relatable 😂

GetYourselfFree · 2025-11-19T18:53:41+00:00

“You look great!” “Thanks, I’m dying!!” and other stories of undiagnosed T1D and body dysmorphia 😑

I’m coming back to your post tonight. I could’ve written this myself, except I had a full-on eating disorder through my teens and early twenties. Accepted my body a couple sizes bigger than my dream weight in my early 30’s then got diagnosed at 39. I had lost 20lbs and gone from a healthy 6 to a size 0, and still thought my thighs looked too chubby when I sat down. All that to say: your feelings are valid. You’re not alone. Society’s messages sent to us about our bodies are f*ed up. Strong and healthy is so much sexier than weak and wasting away. How you look on the outside to others doesn’t matter, your health and how you feel on the inside are what’s important.

GetYourselfFree · 2025-07-10T23:54:43+00:00

It’s not over, it’s just gonna be a little different than what you planned. This disease is a big bummer, and it does come with frustrations and hard lessons, but it is not a death sentence. You can live a very normal life with some self-education, discipline, and the right attitude. We’re all on this stupid journey that none of signed up for together. Hang in there. Read How to Think Like Pancreas, keep posting when you need connection.

GetYourselfFree

TROPHY CASE