Shame And Diabetes

The bedrock of my advocacy work for the diabetes nonprofit Divabetic has been helping women and their loved ones affected by, at risk, and living with type 1, type 2, and prediabetes overcomes shame.

As an openly gay man, I am acutely aware of how toxic shame can be in your life and the obstacles and barriers it can create to prohibit you from achieving your health and life goals.

In 2003, when I began my diabetes outreach efforts, I instantly recognized a similarity between my experience of accepting my sexuality and the experience of many people receiving their diagnosis. This connection pushed me to add layers of empowerment, self-love, and pride to traditional diabetes educational programming.

Accepting yourself (and your health) is a fluid, ongoing experience. After 30 years, I have good days and bad days. Being gay has been a superpower and a cross to bear. I can walk through life unnoticed or be the target of hate and blame for no apparent reason. At times, I still stumble with my confidence and resolve around my identity, so I can understand why, after two decades of dealing with the daily grind of diabetes, people throw up their hands rather than roll up their sleeves.

Recently, I was called out for being ‘obviously gay’ by two film reviewers who reviewed the Luther: Never Too Much documentary even though I made no mention of my sexuality. I was left scratching my head after hearing their comments about me. I can only hope that someone struggling with their sexuality sees me on screen and finds comfort and connection. I didn’t have many older role models to turn to when I was coming out during the AIDS crisis, so it would be a blessing to be one of the next generation.

Experts advise you to accept love and kindness from others, explore positive traits to help overcome feelings and thoughts related to shame, and share your experience living with diabetes to help conquer misinformation. This advice, taken as a whole, can be overwhelming. If you feel that way, you’re not alone. Hopefully, you will turn to Divabetic on the bad days for encouragement and be a source of encouragement for others by sharing your experience on the good days.

This week has been a source of celebration for some and distress for others in our community. I am laser-focused on continuing to build a bridge between all the different types of divas and their loved ones, creating strength through support and being a bright light in moments of despair for everyone. Shame has an insidious way of showing up at the absolutely wrong times in your life to knock you down and out.

Please continue to turn to us and allow us to turn to you to empower each other to dazzle in our diabetes lives.

Celebrating 12 Years of Divabetic Podcasting

Tonight I celebrate my twelfth consecutive year of hosting monthly Divabetic podcasts. I am grateful to our listeners, guests, podcast team, and Sony Music for helping me stay true to a commitment I made to myself in 2003. I decided to help others affected by, at risk of, and living with diabetes to ‘keep their house a home’ by offering tools, time, and the expertise of professional credentialed healthcare collaborators.

My goal was then and continues to be to help others “keep their house a home” by preventing a stroke, related to mismanagement of diabetes, from occurring. I do this in memory of my boss, Luther Vandross.

Our Anniversary podcast’s musical inspiration is Kenneth Edmonds, who is known professionally as Babyface. He has written over 250 top-10 R&B and pop hits, working with the likes of Beyoncé, Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Luther Vandross, and Whitney Houston.

“The blessing of being able to write music and let music speak for itself is you let the melodies and let the lyrics and the groove talk to people instead of me talking to people,” says Babyface.

What makes Babyface so great? His ability to craft a song that touches our emotions captivates our ears and aligns every word in perfect harmony. It’s a rare gift that not many people have in music.

“I would say that I’ve been lucky. Being blessed and not really ever giving up,” says Babyface.

Anniversary podcast guests include Poet Lorraine Brooks, Susan Weiner MS, RDN, CDCES, FADCES, and Collage Artist Tom Cocotos.

Thank you for allowing us to be part of your diabetes wellness journey! We’re looking forward to sharing more insight and advice on diabetes self-care from experts and peers, along with more great music in the next year!