Unwanted Advice

By David Spero What do you do with advice from ignorant people who think they know more about diabetes than you do? When people tell you could be cured if you tried out some idea they read on a Web site, how do you respond? A blogger named Dave Davis on the social networking site TuDiabetes wrote, More and more friends and family e-mail me, text me, call me, or even post directly to my Facebook wall telling me that I can cure my Type 2 diabetes if I go vegan, or start ingesting "living essential oils," or take this vitamin or that herb. Do you ever get sick of this? How do you deal with these people nicely? He got hundreds of comments. Some said the most upsetting examples were people who told them "If you just exercised more," or "If you took care of yourself better," or perhaps used a particular diet or exercise machine, they would be "cured." Type 1s as well as 2s reported receiving such unhelpful advice. I'm certainly familiar with the problem of people telling me stuff about my illness that I already know. With multiple sclerosis, stories appear in the media every month about new research. People usually bring the news to my attention. Why don't I try this, they ask, or that other thing that sounds so exciting in the press release? I know they only do it because they care about me, and I used to thank them for thinking of me. Now I don't thank them so much. I always wonder what makes them think I am not aware of developments in my own condition. Probably, they're just...
Source: Diabetes Self-Management - Category: Diabetes Authors: Source Type: blogs