Matthew Garza, Director of dStigmatize at diaTribe, joins us to unpack a topic that so many people living with type 1 diabetes feel—but don’t always have words for: diabetes stigma. From subtle judgment to systemic bias, stigma can shape how people see themselves, how they interact with healthcare, and even the outcomes they experience over time.

Matthew shares what diabetes stigma really is, why it’s more than just “a bad joke,” and how it shows up everywhere: from doctor visits to media portrayals to policy decisions. But this conversation isn’t just about naming the problem—it’s about what we can do to address it.

We talk about the real impact stigma has on mental health, self-care, and engagement with the healthcare system. We discuss how small shifts in language, community, and confidence can start to change the story. This is a powerful, validating conversation for anyone who’s ever felt blamed, judged, or misunderstood while living with diabetes, and an important reminder that none of this is your fault.

What You'll Learn

• How stigma goes beyond hurtful comments to influence healthcare, research, and policy decisions
• The connection between stigma, shame, burnout, and disengagement from care 
• Why negative healthcare experiences can create a cycle that’s hard to break
• How language choices (like “control” or “compliance”) can unintentionally reinforce stigma
• Simple ways friends, family, and providers can be more supportive
• Practical ways to push back against stigma in your own life
• Why your lived experience with diabetes is real expertise—and deserves to be respected

Key Quotes

• “Diabetes stigma is everywhere, and as soon as you start to notice it, you see just how insidious it is.” – Matthew Garza
• “It can feel really dismissive and make people want to disengage.” – Matthew Garza
• “When you find those allies, that helps it feel a lot less lonely and a lot less isolating.” – Matthew Garza  

Resources & Links

• End Diabetes Stigma Pledge – https://enddiabetesstigma.org
• dStigmatize – https://dstigmatize.org
• diaTribe – https://diatribe.org
• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up) - https://bluecirclehealth.org

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.

David Panzirer is a trustee of the Helmsley Charitable Trust and the father of two adult children with type 1 diabetes. In this conversation, he shares what it was like to go from knowing almost nothing about type 1 diabetes to becoming deeply involved in improving care for people living with it.

In this conversation, David reflects on the early days of fear and uncertainty, what it really feels like to support a child living with diabetes, and how his perspective has evolved over time. He talks openly about the emotional weight carried by parents and caregivers, the importance of listening to people actually living with T1D, and why the healthcare system still falls short for so many. David also shares how important it is to listen to lived experience, and how he turned his fear and concern for his children’s well-being into advocacy, change, and a deeper mission to improve the lives of everyone living with type 1 diabetes.

What You'll Learn

• What the early days after a type 1 diabetes diagnosis can feel like for parents
• How fear can evolve into purpose and advocacy over time
• Why listening to lived experience changes how we think about support
• The tension between wanting control and learning to step back as a parent
• Practical ways anyone can advocate or support someone living with diabetes

Key Quotes

• “Fear can be a very good motivator. And I was scared.” – David Panzirer
• “If you were trying to design a system that would make life really difficult for people with a chronic disease, you’d have exactly what we have here in the US.” – David Panzirer
• “Allow yourself some grace. Allow your child some grace who may be dealing with this.” – David Panzirer

Resources & Links

• The Helmsley Charitable Trust - https://helmsleytrust.org
• Children with Diabetes - https://childrenwithdiabetes.com
• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up) - https://bluecirclehealth.org

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?
The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.

Dr. Bill Polonsky, President and Co-Founder of the Behavioral Diabetes Institute, joins Scott to talk about dealing with the emotional side of living with type 1 diabetes.

This isn’t about burnout as a buzzword or a clinical label. It’s about the real, day-to-day emotional weight of managing a condition that never lets up, and how that weight can quietly shape how we think, feel, and care for ourselves.

In this conversation, Dr. Polonsky helps unpack what diabetes distress actually is, why it’s so common (and so misunderstood), and what we can do about it. If you’ve ever felt like you’re failing at diabetes, or just tired of the constant mental load, this one will likely hit close to home and hopefully offer some helpful strategies.

What You'll Learn

• What diabetes distress really is (and what it’s not)
• Why “trying harder” often makes things worse
• The difference between depression and diabetes distress
• Why experiencing diabetes distress is normal for those with type 1 diabetes
• Practical ways to reduce the emotional burden of diabetes
• What actually helps when you’re overwhelmed

Key Quotes

• “It’s this very common feeling… where you just can feel this sense of pressure and burden of living with diabetes every day.” – Dr. Bill Polonsky
• “We used to think that depression was extremely common in people with type one diabetes… and what we now realize is that was wrong.” – Dr. Bill Polonsky
• “People were scoring high on depression questionnaires, but what we were really picking up was how overwhelmed they were about their diabetes.” – Dr. Bill Polonsky
• “Don’t do diabetes alone!” – Dr. Bill Polonsky

Resources & Links

• Learn more about diabetes distress at http://diabetesdistress.org/
• Learn more about the Behavioral Diabetes Institute at http://behavioraldiabetes.org/
• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up) - https://bluecirclehealth.org

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health (https://bluecirclehealth.org/), a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes.

Rita Rubin, MS, RDN, CDCES,  joins Scott for a thoughtful and practical conversation about nutrition and type 1 diabetes—and how to make it a lot less overwhelming.

Rita is a registered dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist at Blue Circle Health who has spent decades helping people navigate food, blood sugars, and the challenges that can come with both. In this episode, Rita and Scott talk about why nutrition advice can feel so complicated when you live with type 1 diabetes and how the constant stream of “shoulds” around food can lead to unnecessary shame, stress, and confusion.

Together, they explore a different way of thinking about nutrition—one that replaces rigid food rules with curiosity, flexibility, and self-trust. Rita shares how small experiments with food can help people build confidence, why balanced meals can support both satisfaction and steadier blood sugars, and why “good enough” nutrition is often a healthier and more sustainable goal than perfection.

If food has started to feel like a math problem, a test, or something to fear, this episode offers a gentler path forward—one where nutrition becomes another supportive tool in your diabetes toolbox.

What You'll Learn
* Why nutrition can feel especially overwhelming for people living with type 1 diabetes
* How shame and judgment often get tangled up with food choices
* Why there is no single “right way” to eat with type 1 diabetes
* What “good enough nutrition” actually looks like in real life
* Why small food experiments can be more helpful than a complete dietary overhaul
* How predictable fallback meals can make daily life easier
* Why learning to listen to your own body is an important nutrition skill

Key Quotes
* "What could be more personal than the food we choose to nourish our bodies with?" – Rita Rubin, MS, RDN, CDCES
* "The biggest misconception is that we are all the same and we’re not." – Rita Rubin, MS, RDN, CDCES
* "Make time to eat. Give yourself that gift of making time to have a meal." – Rita Rubin, MS, RDN, CDCES
* "Listen to your own body. What is it saying to you? Rely on your own wisdom more than those external messages coming through everywhere." – Rita Rubin, MS, RDN, CDCES

Resources & Links
* American Diabetes Association Food Hub - https://diabetesfoodhub.org
* Blue Circle Health on YouTube - https://youtube.com/@BlueCircleHealth
* Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up) - https://bluecirclehealth.org

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?
The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, and often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/.

Scott K. Johnson talks with Keshia Cannon-Peak, a former Blue Circle Health participant who lives in Delaware and has lived with type 1 diabetes since 1984. Keshia shares what her diagnosis was like when she was 11 years old, the isolation she felt growing up without knowing anyone else with type 1 diabetes, and how technology and online communities changed her relationship with diabetes over time.

Keshia also walks us through how she found Blue Circle Health on social media (and why she initially thought it sounded too good to be true), what it felt like to add Blue Circle Health alongside her existing endocrinology care team, and the small, practical “game changer” tips that continue to help her today, about a year after she completed the program. She also spoke about a bigger shift: giving herself permission to ask for help, admitting when it’s hard, and giving herself grace. Keshia also shares that her experience with Blue Circle Health inspired her to go back to school with a new focus. 

What You’ll Learn

• Why living with type 1 diabetes can feel isolating—especially when you don’t know anyone else who “gets it”
• How Keshia navigated childhood, teen years, and adulthood with T1D (and what support looked like for her)
• What changed when she realized there’s a whole world of people living with type 1 diabetes, and how community can help
• How Blue Circle Health can work alongside your existing care team and collaborate together
• Why small, specific tools (like right-sizing low treatments) can make a big difference over time

Key Quotes:

• “I'm not alone. There are people like me.” — Keshia Cannon-Peak
• “I learned how to navigate, how to do things differently. Understanding what the charts mean, asking the questions why, and recommending what I should change as far as a basal rate and things like that. So I learned that from Blue Circle Health.” — Keshia Cannon-Peak
• “It's okay to say you need help,it's okay to say you're not having a good day, and it's okay to be overwhelmed sometimes” — Keshia Cannon-Peak

Resources & Links

• Blue Circle Health (learn more / sign up): https://bluecirclehealth.org/
• Touched By Type 1 – The D-Box (free t1d starter kit): https://touchedbytypeone.org/

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?
The US healthcare system makes it difficult, expensive, often impossible for people with T1D to access the care, education, and support they need to live. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with t1d.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org/

Mila Clarke, MS, NBC-HWC, joins Scott to talk about something many of us feel but don’t always say out loud: diabetes can be incredibly isolating, and community can change everything.

Mila shares her own diagnosis story, including years of being misdiagnosed and the exhausting fight to be believed. From there, the conversation explores what makes a community truly supportive (and what can make it feel unsafe), why “lurking” is a legitimate and valuable way to begin, and how to take one small step toward connection even if you’ve been managing diabetes alone for a long time.

What You'll Learn

• Why diabetes can feel so isolating, and why stigma makes it worse
• What it’s like to advocate for yourself when necessary
• How to spot a community that’s supportive (and avoid one that’s not)
• Why moderation and “tone-setting” matter in peer spaces
• The value of “lurking” as a low-pressure entry point to connection
• A simple first step to building peer support: one DM, one friend, one connection

Key Quotes

• “It took so much fighting, and it took so much energy and effort, just trying to be believed in a system that already doesn't believe people who look like me.” – Mila Clarke
• “I felt like I'm in this prison of my own body and I just want to know what's wrong.” – Mila Clarke
• “I think that community is so vital, truly, like our shared experience means so, so much.” – Mila Clarke
• “Just don't give up on community because it can be so amazing.” – Mila Clarke

Resources & Links

• Mila’s recipes + work: https://hangrywoman.com/
• Glucose Guide community: https://glucoseguide.app/
• Community Partner Spotlight: You’re Just My Type
  • https://yourjustmytype.org/

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org

Gary Scheiner, MS, CDCES, FADCES, joins Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D to unpack a powerful tool in diabetes management: exercise! An award-winning diabetes educator and the owner and founder of Integrated Diabetes Services, Gary brings deep clinical expertise and lived experience to the conversation.

Together, Scott and Gary talk about why exercise can feel intimidating with T1D and how to reframe physical activity as something that supports quality of life. From CGM lag time and insulin sensitivity to finding movement that’s actually enjoyable, this episode offers practical, reassuring guidance for anyone who wants to move more confidently with T1D.

Reminder: We are not providing medical advice. For personalized guidance, we'll always encourage you to talk with your personal healthcare team.

What You'll Learn

• Why exercise is about more than blood sugar — and why mental health matters just as much
• How consistent movement improves insulin sensitivity and predictability
• Practical ways to start exercising safely, even if you’ve been inactive or feel overwhelmed 
• How to think about CGM lag time and trends during activity
• Why movement doesn’t have to look like a gym workout to “count”

Key Quotes

• “Physical activity is extremely valuable for so many aspects of our daily quality of life — not just blood sugar management, but our mental wellbeing and our physical health now and down the road.” – Gary Scheiner
• “I think it’s important to make exercise fun. Not a chore, not a task, not a painful thing you have to do.” – Gary Scheiner
• “Anything is doable. If you learn how to adjust for it accordingly, we can figure out a way to make it work.” – Gary Scheiner
• “Being active on a consistent basis keeps that insulin sensitivity amplifier dialed up — and that makes things more predictable.” – Gary Scheiner

Resources & Links

• Integrated Diabetes Services
• Think Like a Pancreas the Podcast: 
• Community Partner Spotlight: This episode highlights Ginger Vieira and “Diabetes Nerd”
  • 🌐 Visit: https://diabetesnerd.com to learn more.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org

Anna Sabino, a social worker and diabetes educator who’s lived with type 1 diabetes for more than 30 years, joins the podcast to talk about self-advocacy. From unexpected questions at the gym to loaded comments from strangers, coworkers, or even healthcare providers, Anna and Scott unpack why these moments hit so hard and how people with T1D can respond in ways that protect both their emotional health and their energy.

Together, Anna and Scott explore the emotional side of explaining diabetes and practical tools for responding (or choosing not to respond) in everyday situations.

This episode isn’t about having the perfect response. It’s about permission, self-compassion, and recognizing that you are the captain of your own diabetes ship.

Learn more about Anna’s private practice at findingsmilescoaching.com, and her work with Integrated Diabetes Services at integrateddiabetes.com.

What You'll Learn

• Why self-advocacy can feel so draining, especially when it’s unexpected
• Common emotional reactions to diabetes comments: fear, shame, frustration, and grief
• The difference between effort and data and why numbers never tell the full story
• How to set boundaries around when, how, and whether you talk about diabetes 
• Simple reframing tools (like “I wasn’t expecting that to happen”) to create emotional space
• The importance of mental health support as part of diabetes care — at any stage

Key Quotes

• "You are the captain of your own diabetes ship. When it comes to sharing information, you don’t owe anyone anything." – Anna Sabino, MSW, CDCES
• "The data doesn’t always represent the effort, and that’s where a lot of the shame gets internalized." – Anna Sabino, MSW, CDCES 
• "It's not our job to figure out why every blood sugar shifts the way it does. That is just, it is impossible. And I think until we can accept that it's really hard for people to feel confident in having this, these self-advocacy skills" – Anna Sabino, MSW, CDCES 
• "It's so important to process all of your emotions early and often when it comes to diabetes, because the more you understand yourself, the easier it's going to be to talk about it outwardly" – Anna Sabino, MSW, CDCES 

Resources & Links

• Connect with Anna - findingsmilescoaching.com
• Integrated Diabetes Services - integrateddiabetes.com
• Community Partner Spotlight: CWD Journey Award

The CWD Journey Award recognizes the work and resilience required to live with type one diabetes. Learn more and request your free CWD Journey Award at https://childrenwithdiabetes.com/cwd-journey-award/.

• 🌐 Visit: https://childrenwithdiabetes.com/ to learn more.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org

Dr. Len D’Avolio, CEO and co-founder of Blue Circle Health, sat down with Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D host Scott Johnson to discuss why today’s healthcare system makes living with type 1 diabetes harder than it should be and how better is possible.

Drawing on decades of experience building and studying healthcare systems, Len explains why type 1 diabetes has become the “poster child” for what’s broken in chronic care today. Together, Scott and Len explore how a complex web of insurers, administrators, and financial and operational incentives can distort care, limit access, and leave people with T1D feeling unsupported despite trying their best to navigate their healthcare.

Through real stories, this episode exposes the gap between what people with T1D need to live well and what the healthcare system typically provides. The conversation also highlights why Blue Circle Health exists, what it’s trying to fix, and where there is still room for hope and meaningful change.

What You'll Learn

• Why T1D is a “poster child” for a broken system: How chronic conditions reveal the cracks in modern healthcare more clearly than almost anything else.
• Who actually influences your care: A look at the many invisible players — beyond your doctor — who shape access, coverage, and treatment decisions.
• Why healthcare often feels impersonal: How financial and operational incentives can override human-centered care.
• What’s been tried before: Past attempts to “fix” the system — and why many haven’t worked as intended.
• Where hope lives: How new care models, including Blue Circle Health, aim to realign incentives around people instead of profit.
• What change really requires: The difference between incremental fixes and true systemic transformation. 

Key Quotes

• “Type one is the plane that never lands. You didn’t ask for this job, but now it’s your job for the rest of your life.” – Dr. Len D’Avolio
• “Our healthcare system is designed to make it more difficult, more expensive, in some cases impossible to gain access to the medicine and the knowledge and the training that you need.” – Dr. Len D’Avolio
• “The problem is the misalignment between all of the things that people need to live a long and healthy life with type one versus what they currently get from our healthcare system.” – Dr. Len D’Avolio
• “It’s not that we [the U.S.] don’t spend enough money to dramatically improve hundreds of thousands of lives right now. It’s that we spend it on the wrong things.” – Dr. Len D’Avolio

Resources & Links

• Community Partner Spotlight: Diversity in Diabetes

Diversity in Diabetes works to create a more equitable diabetes landscape, with education, advocacy, and monthly “Insulin Inclusive” virtual meetups.
🌐 Visit: https://diversityindiabetes.org to learn more.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?

People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org

In this episode, host Scott Johnson talks with Carrie Matuzsan, a case manager at Blue Circle Health who has lived with type 1 diabetes (T1D) for 22 years. Carrie shares her journey from her diagnosis at age 12 to her current professional role helping others navigate life with diabetes, including financial hurdles, insurance, and social determinants of health like housing and transportation.

The heart of the conversation focuses on why sticking to goals is so challenging, especially with a 24/7 condition like T1D, and on how to use the SMART goals framework to shift from focusing on outcomes to breaking down the process and using a proven system to help achieve goals.

Carrie teaches us how to "smartify" our intentions, find our "North Star" through the “Toddler Approach”, and reevaluate our progress without self-judgment, especially when we get off track.

What You'll Learn

• Common Pitfalls: Many of us focus on the outcome (e.g., "get an A1C below 7") rather than the process, making the leap from where we are to where we want to be feel impossible.
• The Toddler Approach: How asking "Why?" repeatedly helps peel away surface-level answers to find the core values driving your goal. 
• The SMART Goals System:
  • Specific: Making goals concrete rather than ambiguous
  • Measurable: Setting clear criteria for success
  • Attainable/Achievable: Ensuring the goal is something you can actually do.
  • Relevant: Making sure the goal is “along the path” to your bigger picture.
  • Time-bound: Setting a specific timeframe for check-ins and reevaluation. 
• Contingency Planning: The importance of having a backup plan for when barriers (like bad weather or life events) interfere with your progress.
• Removing Judgment: Why you should treat your own progress with the same kindness you would show a friend, rather than being your own "bully".

Key Quotes

• "The process of it is the part that is not as much fun to think about or even to plan out." – Carrie Matuzsan
• "One of the biggest downfalls is being mean to yourself. Being your own bully is often the downfall for a lot of these goals." – Carrie Matuzsan
• "We are working to replace an entire hormone that our body is not producing, on top of living a full life. We continue to go and adapt. Just that resiliency... always amazes me." – Carrie Matuzsan

Resources & Links

• SMART Goals worksheet
• Previous Blue Circle Health Webinars on SMART Goals
  • Realistic Goal Setting with T1D (part 1)
  • Realistic Goal Setting with T1D (part 2)
  • Realistic Goal Setting with T1D (part 3)
• Community Partner Spotlight: The Time in Range Coalition (a program from diaTribe). They provide guides and toolkits for using Time in Range as a metric in diabetes management.
  • 🌐 Visit: timeinrange.org to learn more.

What is Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D?
People with type 1 diabetes fight two wars: one against a relentless 24/7 condition, and another against a healthcare system that makes it difficult and expensive to stay alive. Around the Circle: Living Well with T1D brings together voices from across the type 1 diabetes community to share real stories, expert insight, and practical support for living well with T1D.

Hosted by the team at Blue Circle Health, a U.S.-based program transforming type 1 care, this podcast helps people go from just surviving to truly living well with type 1 diabetes. https://bluecirclehealth.org