Replacing fear and anxiety with empowerment.

A lot of the problems that come with diabetes in terms of, you know, consequential health issues can be themselves managed and in some cases resolved. I remember when I was at my last year at university when I got a letter saying that one of my eyes was deteriorating significantly. Basically for the first time about my diabetes care being overwhelmed by almost a vulnerability of having it and that can make you kind of bury your head in the sand. I cannot encourage people enough when you see those sorts of letters and they do always look quite frightening in black and white. It's, you know, it's not a death sentence, I'll put it that way. There are people out there who are there to help you deal with these things. And that doesn't mean it's, you know, it's going to be doctors and nurses, but it's also going to be diabetes charities, who will know people who, you know, have experienced same things, support groups, you know, with the age of social media and web based content we've got now, there is somebody out there who's feeling what you're feeling in one form or another and if nothing else trying to reach out to get that support will help you. I only did it five six years after I left university but even just sitting in a room with seven other diabetics all complaining about exactly the same things some of them are totally trivial and just irritating some of them are really significant it's it's invaluable to know you're not alone. So if anyone's having those sorts of you know panic moments or struggling with really what they feel are really big issues with their care, go and find them. Do your best to go and find one of them. It doesn't matter if it's the right one to start with but as soon as you find one you'll find others and eventually you'll find someone who can help you with what you're dealing with.