Today on the lecture of psychology (in my University) the lecturer talked about connection between emotions and health. So, he took diabetes as the example. He said that it’s extremely awful disease and according to his theory its source was just stress. Then he said a lot of other wrong things.
And I think it’s really bad, because it gives people wrong information about us and makes diabetics hide what they really are. You know, sometimes people think that having a diabetes means dying.
Actually, that was very uncomfortable for me to sit there and listen to all that crap. The only thing that I could think about was what would he say if he had known that there was a person touched be diabetes in audience?..
Hi Dina,
I wouldn’t have been able to listen to that without saying something. Very upsetting. Can you speak with him privately & educate him? He’s a psychology teacher so taking the approach of what he said greatly disturbed you might work:) I’d speak up at the next class & challenge what he said to get the right info out to everyone.
i would give him the link to this site and tell him to educate himself on EVERY ASPECT of diabetes, because it’s not just one thing. What exactly did he say??
I, honestly, would probably have said something right there in front of everyone. If I didn’t do that then I would definately talk to him after class and ask him where he got his information. Also, that he he would like, you could show him why people really get diabetes.
i think we should all send him a letter
Aww Dina, so sorry you had to go through that. College can be tough because an idiot like that states his “theory” in front of a class, and suddenly it gets treated as fact. Lame.
Who wants to go duck hunting?..because I smell a QUACK!!!
What a moron.
A difficult position for you to be in for sure. If I were in the lecture, I don’t think I would have let it go without making some in-put. Was this not possible? If not, then I think making an appointment to see him would be in order to try and set the record straight and let him know how you feel.
Stephen
Was this a guest lecturer or a professor? Either way, that is obnoxious…
If it was your professor, I can see why you didn’t say anything. I know some of my professors would hate me forever if I shut them down in front of a class… But you should definitely email him or something after semester is through. I mean, these guys have big fancy degrees, students look up to them and expect them to know what they are talking about. Its ridiculous that he would say something like that.
I think we should innundate him with e-mails and letters not only to him but to the Dean of the school (Health Sciences?). This type of ignorance must not be spread, especially by an advanced educational institution!!!
MEMBERS OF TU, LET’S JOIN TOGETHER. WE HAVE NOTHING LEFT TO LOSE BUT OUR (SUGAR FREE) COOKIES.
Lois La Rose
Milwaukee, WI
Quack!!! Great picture, great joke!
Lois
i’m interested in exactly what he said. Was he talking about all diabetes, or did he not understand the differences in types? Maybe he was talking about what little he knew about type 2 (just a guess).
Dina, I’m sorry you had to listen to such nonesense. I just bet that there was more than one person touched by diabetes in that audience. I think you should make your effort not to hide your disease rather show how wrong those statements were - to the lecturer and everyone! Does this lecturer have credentials and if so what are they? Perhaps your uni should review his/her curriculum and make sure that incorrect/inproper information is not being given to students!
Dear Dina. There is some truth to what he said stress may be the primary cause of some forms of diabetes. To generalize is most certainly incorrect.
Dina,
I will play a bit of the devil’s advocate a little here as I am in the counseling psychology field. It sounds like he was using some information that is not the most up to date. There is a TON of research that draws these negative conclusions between chronic diseases and mental health, making it difficult for a practitioner to find good data. Especially concerning the t2 population, there are some grim findings out there. So I wonder if he was looking at t2 studies that have since been refuted? It is his job to be up to date on current research and trends and I don’t think he was, so he has no excuse. Plus his extreme viewpoint made you uncomfortable, I wonder who else in the class felt the same? I am sure you are not the only one. I am of course making a guess about him since I don’t know what studies or theories he was pulling this crap from. He was irresponsible to say the least to go on like he did. Some in the field would go so far as to say he was also unethical here. He obviously has little, if any, personal experience with diabetes.
Thats why I never tell anyone I am a diabetic!!! Don’t need their sympathy or to hear their misinformation!!
love it Dino!
I would probably sit and write a letter if I did not have the chance to talk to him…or stand up in the middle of it lol…I’m a little crazed like that though lol
I think I would have called him out, asking him to cite his sources, and countering any information that I knew to be incorrect. There are legitimate links between stress and diabetes. If you’re under significant stress, it affects your body and can probably contribute to the development of diabetes. Like I could see if you have the predisposition to develop T1, stress will compromise your immune system which could be a factor in the onset of T1. Is it the sole cause? I don’t think so. It’s far too simplistic to say that stress actually causes diabetes, T1 or T2, but to rule the role of stress out completely seems equally simplistic and short-sighted to me.
In the end, if we don’t open our mouths, misinformation will be perpetuated. If we want people to understand diabetes better, we have to say something because no one else is going to do it for us.
Thanks for the answer. Well, I share your opinion, though I’m not hiding that I’m a diabetic but at the same moment I wouldn’t tell it to everyone, just to close people, friends
Well, I’m sure that I was the only one diabetic in that audience. Actually, I’m a student of math department (psychology is not obligitary) and it’s really hard to study here. That’s why they prefer don’t deel with diabetics (they think it’s too hard for us to study math and computer science). Believe me it’s really hard to be the only one. I’m not hiding who I am but there are only few friends who know. I think that’s why the lecturer was sure that there were no diabetics there