Yes, here I am again bringing up the mental aspect of diabetes. And over the years I have meet many people with diabetes and I have noticed something that relates to which decade the person was diagnosed and their live outlook.
Now please remember this is not hard fact and what everyone is like just like YDMV, your outlook on life will vary. But I have noticed a few things that surprise me.
Those people diagnosed in the 30’s and 40’s have such a positive outlook on everything. These people seem to be in such a good place with their diabetes and have such a happy feeling about them. Most of them have no major complications and see to be at peace with their diabetes. They have told me that when they were diagnosed they were told everything would be fine, just do everything in moderation and remember to take their insulin. Everything in moderation. What a cool thought! Moderation! And for many it seems to work. They eat a well balanced diet, they walk or bike everyday, have a drink each evening, test 3-4 times a day. Moderation. And because they were told everything would be ok, they lived their life thinking how lucky they were to be diagnosed when they were because they had insulin and a way to live a healthy life.
60’s and 70’s. These tend to have a very negative outlook. This was when all the complications were coming to light. Yes people with diabetes were living with the use of insulin but something was very wrong because so many were getting horrible complications. I am in this group and was told that I’d be blind in 5 years, lose my kidneys, never have children and would not live past 30. It was a horrible time. We were taking one shot a day and testing our urine four times a day. The outlook was grim and the tools were prehistoric. But we were told we could live a perfectly normal life. (Playing with your urine 4x day, perfectly normal?)
90’s-now these people seem to have a much better outlook on their future and feel like they some say in what happens. And oh so many choices on treatment plans. While they have the complication scare hanging around, there is much more hope due to all the treatment options to help those complications if they happen. And the DDCT has showed everyone that tight control works. But where did the moderation go?
Out of all of us, those people back in the 30’s & 40’s have such a great outlook and that moderation has worked well for many of them. Wonder if we can ever get back to moderation and low key.
What decade were you diagnosed in and how is our life outlook framed due to that diagnosis?
Do you have any stories or stats for very young, to adolescence? Would you say they fit in with the 30’s / 40’s age group?
@ClaudandDaye
I think @Sally7 is referring to the decade a person was diagnosed?
30’s/40’s meaning 1930-1949?
60’s/70’s meaning 1960-1979?
And I’m guessing 1990-? For the 90’s reference.
But I think age at diagnosis also plays a role.
Ahh, okay. I misunderstood that. Thanks!
I am confused, too, about @Sally7’s time reference. Sally, are you talking about the decades of the last century or the age of diagnosis? Is it the 1930’s and 1940’s or during your 30’s or 40’s age decade?
So sorry everyone about how vague I was. Yes, I am talking about what decade a person was diagnosed in. And yes the 1900’s so 1930 or 1970. Not the age you were diagnosed. Although that is another huge topic to talk about.
I am always just so amazed at how happy people are with life in general when diagnosed in 1930-1940’s. They have lived a very long and most healthy life and enjoy everything in moderation. So very cool and I am working so hard on being one who sees the glass half full instead of half empty. Has anyone else been out there taking with others and gotten a feel for how their outlook on life is?
Well, this is interesting. I was dx’d in the mid 90s. Thinking back on the symptoms I didn’t recognize, I was probably full blown D for a year or so prior.
And I do have a positive outlook now, partly based on knowledge and experience gained in the meantime and partly from realizing that it happened at a time when tools, options and choices were increasing geometrically. But I sure didn’t at dx! I don’t know whether I skipped any steps in the progression or not, but I can confirm that I went straight to anger and stayed there for some time. My wife will readily corroborate that I was not fit to be around for a goodly while. 
David,
Thanks for chiming in here. And you being diagnosed in the 1990’s, you had a lot of the high tech stuff available to you. And people know knew that complications could be greatly reduced if there was some control of blood sugars.
And you say you a positive outlook now. (Really who has a positive outlook right after finding out you have diabetes!)
I was diagnosed in 1970 when we had one shot a day and urine testing. A nightmare. There was no control but ther was that continuous talk of complications. And every urine test would bubble up and you’d get that 4+ reading almost everytime. So frustrating which now makes my blood testing a battle. Everytime a high number pops up, it goes to what did I do wrong this time? Why can’t I get this right?
Please understand that I do a pretty darn good job with my control and am probably healthier than most people but at what costs? I am thrilled I’ve made it this far but wow, it sure hasn’t been fun. And yes I work at being positive on the outside but inside, another story.
I was diagnosed in the '80s and I see my outlook as hopeful and positive with some backsliding from time to time. The social era didn’t seem to have much effect on me but I did benefit from the fact that blood glucose test strips were available to me right from the start. I also had the option to use an inulin pump starting in 1987.
I felt lucky that I was diagnosed in 1984 instead of 1884, before insulin was discovered. I was rarely exposed to other people with diabetes until the internet in the '90s and '00s gave me access to this forum. There is a lot more to be hopeful about toady than at any time since I was diagnosed. But I think a person’s attitude is influenced by a lot more than their diabetes or the era of their diagnosis.
I was diagnosed in 1993. Mostly I do well,occasionally I am influenced off the " block" so to speak. I do my blood test,take my meds and care for my body. Nancy
54 years on 12/25/16. No devastating complications. Had retinopathy problems 20 years ago, well treated.
Mental health today…not good.
HOWEVER, I had fantastic, supportive parents, and a husband who has supported me for 40+ years.
Hate to say this, but 54 years weighs me down…