It’s Diabetes Awareness Month, which means you are probably seeing (and maybe posting) a lot about type 1 diabetes. If you’re sharing or creating posts to raise awareness, it’s very likely that you’ll get very little interaction. It may start to feel like all of the effort that you’re putting in is pointless. You might get discouraged about spreading T1D awareness. If any of that sounds familiar to you, please keep reading because I have something to tell you.
You got all excited to raise awareness about T1D. You’re wearing your blue and you’re pouring your soul into the posts you’re writing.
Talking about your or your child’s diagnosis, telling people that they should watch out for the signs, correcting all of the misconceptions about T1D. It’s emotional work and it can be draining just writing it.
AND THEN…
People don’t respond to your diabetes awareness posts. The amount of “likes” and comments on a picture of your cat far surpasses the amount on your posts about T1D.
In fact, when you post about diabetes, you get crickets.
I mean sure, your mom “likes” a couple, and maybe a friend comments here and there, but it’s pretty darn lonely over here in diabetes land.
So you start to wonder…
Should I even bother continuing to post for the rest of the month? Is anyone even seeing these posts? Is there something wrong with my posts???
Even that person who “likes” EVERY. SINGLE. POST. has disappeared.
It’s lonely. It’s disheartening. And it makes you question how close you are with some of your friends and family members.
Just when you think you couldn’t be more discouraged, you get a comment!
Finally, someone is paying attention. You are making a difference.
So you read the comment. And it’s a negative comment. Someone has decided to speak up and tell you that you’re wrong. They know all about T1D and they know that it is caused by sugar and people with diabetes have it for a reason.
You know they are wrong. T1D is autoimmune and nothing can stop or reverse it. But the silence, and the negative responses, make you feel defeated. And you may decide to stop posting.
Your mental health is important
Please don’t think that you’ve failed if you can’t get through Diabetes Awareness Month. If you can’t post daily, it’s ok. I’d go so far as to say that it’s normal.
There were years that I couldn’t do it. Some years I missed days. Others I gave up partway through. I have a list of Facebook Pages that share daily posts for Diabetes Awareness Month. Often, several of them don’t last the full month either.
Those of us that do, we’ve created daily posts and reuse them every year. It’s less mental energy. It’s less emotional energy. That’s why you see the same posts over and over again.
So, if you need to stop posting, do what is best for you.
However, Diabetes Awareness Month is not about clicks and shares
It’s not about how many shares you get, how many likes, or comments.
It’s not about re-tweets or pins.
So what is it about then? It’s about raising awareness so that other people may catch their diagnosis sooner, before DKA, before it’s too late.
People may not be reacting in a way you can see, and that sucks. But I guarantee people are seeing and reading your posts. People are learning from the stories and facts that you’re sharing.
Over and over, I have heard the story:
You may find out one day that you got through to someone. You may never hear about it. But your posts have the potential to save a life. Although T1D is not preventable, early detection is very important and can save lives.
Please don’t feel defeated during Diabetes Awareness Month
Because even that person, the one who comments that you don’t know what you’re talking about, the one who says his grandma lost a foot to diabetes, the one who tells you of a cure found in the Amazon rain forest, that person, is spreading your message.
By commenting on your awareness post, they are showing it to more people. They might be showing it to a parent who has noticed how much their child is suddenly drinking, or someone who is becoming more and more exhausted no matter what they try, or someone who has been to the doctor only to be told it was “just a virus”.
And those people are the ones who need to see your message. They, like so many of us before T1D entered our lives, don’t know the symptoms. Diabetes isn’t on their radar. They don’t know how urgent T1D is.
It’s those people who need you. They need to see your posts. By clicking “publish” or “share”, you may save someone’s life.
And if you’re able to, please encourage others who are posting. “Like”, comment, or simply send them an encouraging message. Let them know that you see the effort that they’re putting in. Let them know that what they are doing matters.
Because if you can save one life, doesn’t that make it worth it?
~ Leah
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