When Bridget McNulty was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes 18 years ago, she felt like the only person in the world it had ever happened to. She later discovered that almost everyone she spoke to had felt exactly the same way.

Bridget is the founder of Sweet Life, South Africa's largest online diabetes community, and a published author. In this episode, Catriona talks to her about why that sense of isolation at diagnosis is so universal, what people with chronic conditions actually need from a community, and why managing diabetes 24 hours a day, 365 days a year is exhausting in a way that's almost impossible to explain to people who don't live it.

They also discuss the divide between public and private healthcare in South Africa, why type 2 diabetes carries a stigma that type 1 doesn't, the relief of talking to people who just get it without needing everything explained, and why the language healthcare professionals use around diabetes needs to change.

Connect with Sweet Life: sweetlife.org.za South Africans with Diabetes on Facebook @sweetlife.org.za on Instagram

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