Please speak to a healthcare professional if you feel like you would benefit from support with your mental health.

‘Most people just want to feel like they’re being heard.’

Anyone living with type 1 diabetes can tell you that it’s not easy, but how do we transfer that awareness into diabetes care?

The research that Maartje De Wit, senior researcher and principal investigator of diabetes and psychology, and her team are doing at the Amsterdam University Medical Center is providing a growing body of important and pioneering evidence that is not only increasing understanding among healthcare teams and people living with T1D, but introducing new models that are making a practical difference to people’s lives.

In this episode, Maartje discusses the latest findings from her research - including self-guided therapy, the balance between time in range and time in happiness, body image and the idea that ‘every person with type 1 diabetes has a disturbed relationship with food’. 

She reveals the importance of - and the challenges around - creating space for mental health conversations in routine diabetes consultations, and takes us through what the many emotional challenges of living type 1 diabetes look like on a day-to-day level.

Although there is still progress to be made, it’s so heartening that these discussions are on the table and this work is being done. This episode is validation for anyone who’s ever felt frustrated by their type 1 diabetes, for any reason, or isolated by the emotional challenges that so many people with type 1 diabetes and their carers carry, often unbeknownst to those around them.

PEOPLE, PLACES AND THINGS MENTIONED:
Connect with Maartje on LinkedIn
More about Beating The Blues - Online CBT programme
The Amsterdam University Medical Center - Maartje’s research publications
The MyREMEDY Trial - MyDiaMate Self-Guided App for Type 1 Diabetes and Mental Health
More about the MyREMEDY trial (Dutch)
The Diabetes Body Project

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SPONSOR MESSAGE:
Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.

Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.

They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/