When People Want to Pry Into Your T2D Journey

I used to love sharing about my diabetes journey. But lately, it has become something I keep to myself due to other people's unsolicited comments. What do you do when people want to pry into your type 2 diabetes journey?

In my experiences, I've found that there are generally people who are well-meaning, nosy, or who act like a know-it-all. I will share how I have responded to and felt after dealing with particular comments in the past.

Comments from a well-meaning person

Someone well-meaning usually wants to share their success story, which in my case, has usually involved getting a lecture about a multilevel marketing scheme that they're involved with. People who learned about my type 2 diabetes have told me about every kind of supplement they claim works miraculously to cure something.

Never mind that if this supplement did actually work to cure diabetes, we would all certainly know more about it. Instead, it's presented as some vague thing that costs about the same as a car payment. To me, this is one of the worst types of comments to deal with. Well, maybe not the worst, but a close second place.

Nosy comments from others about diabetes

Usually, somebody who comes off as nosy doesn't mean any harm, but their comments could get annoying. For example, I recently posted on social media that I had lost 63 pounds. Unfortunately, my weight fluctuates, but I was especially proud of this milestone that I was working towards.

Almost immediately, people started asking how I did it. Even when I told some people that it was a positive side effect of the medicine I was taking (Ozempic), those without type 2 diabetes wanted to know how to get a prescription for it. I don’t know why, but it makes me feel that it belittles or undermines my diabetes journey.

The know-it-all commenter

In this case, I was especially hurt after sharing an article about my A1C being under control. Again, this was due in part to Ozempic. Yet, a "friend" commented that I could not heal with medicine, something I "caused" by eating.

I ended up removing the post on social media and sharing it elsewhere. I didn't want anyone else to see what he had commented and posted because it made me feel like a loser. This person's comment implied that I ate my way to a type 2 diabetes diagnosis and was now relying on medicine that would never work in the long run. That is so inaccurate.

I get it; of course, I have to change my eating habits. The medicine won't do everything for me and managing my diabetes. But for someone to post that comment just seemed especially cruel.

Maybe it's just me

Maybe others don't feel like I do. Perhaps they welcome comments from others, no matter how misguided. I do not, though. Unless that person lives with type 2 diabetes as well, how can I rely on the advice at all?

Take control of your own journey

I honestly have to take control of my journey and tune out those who think they know everything, are being nosy, or try to mean well yet miss the mark. Mostly I ignore any comments or write them privately. Maybe this makes me sound hateful or bitter, but it's not meant to. I want to find my place in this journey without others butting in. I don't think that's too much to ask.