Denial’s Not My Style: Divabetic Outreach Then & Now

This morning, I found this old Divabetic card in a stack of papers. “Denial’s Not My Style’ was the second phrase I came up with after ‘Sugar’s the Bitch. Not Me’ back in 2003.

We used it as one of the station names in the Makeover Maze at our national outreach program, Divabetic – Makeover Your Diabetes (2005 – 2008), and on limited edition Divabetic branded t-shirts.

The Makeover Maze consisted of six different diabetes care and education stations. One diabetes self-care topic per station. Complimentary mini massages, makeup application, and image consultation areas surrounded the Makeover Maze.

Divabetic’s ‘Denial’s Not My Style’ station offers one-on-one education on the ABC’s of diabetes. The ABCs of diabetes stand for: A —the A1C test, which measures average blood sugar over 2 to 3 months. B —blood pressure, the force of blood flow inside blood vessels. C —cholesterol, is a group of blood fats that affect the risk of heart attack or stroke.

The ‘Sweet Inspirations‘ station focuses on goal setting help. Setting goals gives you long-term vision and short-term motivation 

The ‘Glam More, Fear Less’ station focuses on our diabetes affects our personal appearance. From our teeth to our skin, to our feet and our hair, what you see in the mirror can reflect your self-care.  Did you know people with diabetes are more likely to have a condition called alopecia areata?  With alopecia, the immune system attacks the hair follicles, leading to patches of hair loss on the head and on other parts of the body. Some people with diabetes may experience thinning hair or hair loss. The primary causes of hair loss are mismanaged blood sugar levels, emotional and physical stress, and hormone imbalances.

The ‘Tunnel of Love’ focuses on sex, and intimacy issues related to diabetes. Women with diabetes have can experience low sexual desire and response, vaginal dryness, and painful sex can be caused by nerve damage, reduced blood flow to the genitals, and hormonal changes. Men with diabetes may face the inability to have an erection. Damage to the vascular system can reduce blood flow.

And finally, ‘The Twist And Shout’ station focuses on fun ways to exercise. Staving off boredom by adding variety to how your workout is a great way to stick to a routine. Exercise variation is an important factor when designing an exercise program, with many benefits when you change exercises every so often, such as increased performance and decreased injury risk.

The back of  Divabetic’s Denial’s Not My Style card asks two questions: Describe how you initially felt about being diagnosed (in one word). And, Describe how you feel about living with diabetes today (using one word).

We posted everyone’s answers on the walls of our diabetes outreach events for everyone to see.

I am so proud of Divabetic’s ongoing efforts over the past 19 years to promote a new attitude about living with diabetes.  Although we are not currently presenting live outreach events, we continue to produce monthly podcasts and virtual programs on Zoom.

Divabetic Podcasts & Virtual Programs

Divabetic’s latest monthly podcast is available on-demand and features music from Teddy Pendergrass‘s album, Life Is A Song Worth Singing, and guests: Patricia Addie-Gentle RN, CDCES,  Build Jake’s Place Executive Director Arthur Anston, and Yoga For Diabetes Author and Founder Rachel Zinman.