Living with type one diabetes is already a full-time job, it doesn’t clock off or take holidays. It doesn’t pause for rest days, mental health breaks or moments where you’d rather just exist without thinking about numbers, timing or consequences.
Creating content about diabetes on top of living with it is another layer entirely. And it’s probably one we don’t talk about enough.
When you live with type one diabetes and share about it online, diabetes stops being just something you manage and it becomes something you analyse, document, explain and relive… over and over again. What might look like “just content” from the outside is often built on real experiences, real struggles, real highs & lows and real emotional labour.
For me, diabetes has slowly become my whole personality. Not because I want it to be, but because I live and breathe it. I manage it every hour of every day, share my journey publicly and I run a business built around supporting people living with it. Diabetes isn’t just part of my life, it is my life. And sometimes, that leaves very little room for anything else.
In the earlier years, I turned almost every experience into diabetes content. Holidays weren’t just holidays. Days out weren't just days out. They were opportunities to educate, to share, to raise awareness. I packed my diabetes supplies, my products, my camera and the quiet pressure to capture it all. Diabetes didn’t just come with me, it actually took centre stage. At the time, it felt super purposeful, like I was making something good out of something hard. But a lot of times, it took over what should have been meaningful experiences.
And over time, it became all-consuming.
Living with diabetes already requires constant mental energy. Counting, correcting, anticipating, worrying. When you add content creation on top, there’s a subtle shift where you stop just experiencing things and start viewing them through the lens of whether they’re shareable. A hypo becomes a post idea. A hard day becomes an educational moment. A vulnerable experience becomes content before it’s even had time to settle in your body.
And that takes a toll.
I’ve watched so many incredible type one diabetic content creators quietly step back over the years. People who poured their hearts into educating, supporting and advocating for others. People who showed up consistently, generously and honestly. Many of them didn’t stop because they stopped caring. They stopped because the weight became too heavy. Because they were showing up online while slowly not showing up for themselves. Because after carrying diabetes all day, they had nothing left to give to the internet or vice versa.
I understand that now in a way I didn’t before.
As the years have gone on, I’ve found this harder to navigate. There are days where diabetes already takes everything I have and the idea of sharing anything on top of that feels impossible. Not because I don’t want to help, but because I’m tired. Tired of always explaining. Tired of always being “the diabetic one”. Tired of feeling like my hardest moments are expected to be turned into something useful for others.
I’ve learned to implement boundaries so I don’t share everything anymore. I don’t document every low, every high, every hard day. I don’t take diabetes content with me into every moment of my life. Some experiences are allowed to just be mine now and some days are allowed to be quiet.
That hasn’t been an easy shift and there’s been major guilt in stepping back. Guilt in not posting as often or being super vulnerable or personal. There's been guilt in choosing myself when I know my content could help others. But I’ve come to realise that protecting my mental health isn’t a failure of my platform. It’s the only way I can stay in it long-term.
The truth is this: diabetes content does comes at a cost. Especially when you live with type one diabetes, share it publicly and build your work around it. Visibility, education and community matter deeply. But they should never require you to sacrifice your own wellbeing.
Sometimes the bravest thing a diabetes content creator can do isn’t showing up louder. It’s resting. It’s setting boundaries. It’s choosing not to turn every lived experience into something consumable.
If you’re living with diabetes and finding it harder to show up online, you’re not failing. If you’ve stepped back, gone quiet or need space, you’re not letting anyone down. You’re human and diabetes already asks so much of you.
Impact doesn’t disappear just because you take a pause, the work you’ve done still matters, the support you’ve given still counts.
And choosing to stay whole will always be more important than choosing to stay visible online.
