What is diabetes stigma?
Diabetes stigma happens when negative attitudes and incorrect assumptions are made about people living with or at risk of diabetes. It impacts people with all types of diabetes and arises from misconceptions about the causes, management, and realities of the condition.
False information and stereotypes about diabetes can leave people feeling frustrated, excluded, or simply misunderstood.
Sadly, these stereotypes are often internalised – with nearly half of those who completed our survey believing them to be true. This can lead to feelings of shame, and people who experience or internalise stigma are more likely to report symptoms of depression, anxiety, diabetes distress, and low self-esteem.
Everyone deserves to be supported, not stigmatised because of their health condition.
Download or print off our posters and resources to share with your friends or family:
- Diabetes is nobody's fault (PDF, 143KB)
- Should you be eating that? (PDF, 152KB)
- Are you comfortable injecting here? (PDF, 189KB)
- How to be a diabetes ally - Advice for loved ones (PDF, 735KB)
Here’s some information you might find helpful if you or someone you know has experienced diabetes stigma.
Understanding diabetes and challenging stigma
See below people living with diabetes discussing how they have experienced diabetes stigma
'Can you eat that?'
Diabetes is often misunderstood. And those misunderstandings show up in everyday moments.
From hearing “Can you eat that?” to reactions when injecting in public, we spoke to Sasha (living with type 1) and Jade (living with type 2) to hear more about their experiences.
'Is this my fault?'
Nobody chooses diabetes. And nobody is to blame for it either.
But that doesn’t stop people like Mark and Jo from wondering: Is this my fault?
Misunderstandings between different types of diabetes
Diabetes stigma doesn’t only come from outside the community - it can exist within it too.
In this conversation, Ken (living with type 2) and Niki (living with type 1) open up about the misunderstandings between different types of diabetes.
