Session 6: Work & School
Session 1: Self-Care & Introductions
The first session will revolve around a discussion of building good habits that have nothing to do with other people, school, work, or even diabetes management. We’ll talk with you about different activities that help with stress relief (journaling, crafting, hiking, etc.) as well as standard healthy habits—those not necessarily restricted to people with diabetes. During this session, we’ll also introduce you to spoon theory as a basis for discussing energy/self-care/fatigue during this and future sessions. This session will also allow us to get to know you!
Session 2: Mental Health
For this session, we’ll be discussing mental health, focusing on depression, anxiety, and eating disorders. We’ll also briefly go over medical histories and their importance in good health management as sources of information.
Session 3: Social Relationships
For this session, we’ll talk with you about personal boundaries in friendships, family, and romantic relationships. This session will include how to politely and gracefully say “no,” and discussions of emotional responsibility, determining different activities’ required energy levels, and how activities requiring lots of energy affect blood sugar levels. Finally, we’ll also discuss navigating common misconceptions about what people with diabetes can or can’t do, such as foods people with diabetes can/’t eat, and the phenomena of ablesplaining.
Session 4: Drugs, Alcohol, Sex & Sexuality
The purpose of this session is to provide you with enough information and skills to make good choices about touchy subjects. During this session, we will discuss how to evaluate information for reliability and credibility. We will also quickly review different types of birth control and contraceptives, and we'll talk about how infections affect blood sugar levels. Finally, we’ll go over different local or national LGBTQ+ resources, and talk about how to use "unreliable" resources presenting factual information.
Session 5: Navigating Insurance
For this session, we’re going to talk about beginning your interactions with insurance. We’ll discuss who to talk with about insurance issues, such as hospital billing, insurance customer service, and pharmacists. We’ll also talk about different management supplies, no-prescription-required glucometers, and other low-cost or low-insurance-wrangling methods of obtaining supplies and medication.
During the final session, we’re going to talk about navigating work and school with diabetes. Topics of discussion will include accommodations, reasonable versus unreasonable accommodations, 504 and IEP plans, and disability-specific discrimination. We’ll also discuss moving away to college and self-management while living away from home. All resources talked about during the program will be made available on the website or during the session.