Managing mental health with diabetes is just as important as managing your numbers. Sweet Life CEO Bridget McNulty shares small, practical ways to cope with burnout and build support.
South Africa (23 July 2025) – Living with diabetes isn’t just about what you eat, how often you move, or remembering to check your blood sugar. It’s also about holding space for the emotional weight that comes with a chronic condition, something that’s often overlooked in the whirlwind of test strips and treatment plans.
Sweet Life CEO and co-founder Bridget McNulty has lived this reality and knows the quiet toll it can take. “Diabetes burnout” might sound like jargon, but for anyone managing diabetes day in and day out, it’s a real, recurring presence. It doesn’t always arrive with drama; sometimes it’s just a low hum of overwhelm, a feeling that the effort required is more than you have to give today.
And it’s not just burnout. As psychologist and fellow diabetic, Daniel Sher puts it:
“As people with diabetes, we’re at a high risk of developing burnout, but also clinical depression and anxiety disorders. If you don’t know how to move forward, it’s important to ask for help. Ask a friend, family member, doctor or therapist. You are not alone in this.”
That last part matters. You are not alone in this.
Bridget offers a few gentle steps that have helped her stay grounded, and might help you, too.
Take it one step at a time.
You don’t have to master everything about diabetes today. Or tomorrow. What small thing could make today a little easier? Perhaps it’s checking your sugar more regularly, choosing a lunch that fuels you better, or simply taking a breath before the next task. Diabetes is a marathon, not a to-do list you’ll ever tick off completely.
Don’t judge yourself.
There’s no prize for a perfect glucose curve, and no shame in the numbers. They are just that: numbers. Some days will be better than others, and that’s okay. Show up for yourself the best you can, today and tomorrow, and know that effort is enough.
Speak up.
Diabetes can feel incredibly isolating, but connection can crack that isolation wide open. Whether it’s talking to someone you trust, sending a voice note in a WhatsApp group, or posting to a community like South Africans with Diabetes, it’s powerful to say: “This is hard today.” Often, the reply is: “I feel that too.”
Because the truth is, you don’t have to do this alone. There is support. There is a community. And there is strength in walking this road, one step at a time, without judgement, together.
Sweet Life is an online diabetes community that empowers people to live healthier, happier lives through easy-to-understand information on healthy eating, exercise, mental health and the basics of diabetes. Connect with other people with diabetes and get mental health support by joining their community on Facebook and Instagram, or find answers to your diabetes questions on www.sweetlife.org.za
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