Feel better 

about yourself 

and your diabetes:

talk to others, 

involve your family,

and health care

team.

Feel good about yourself.

Get help to deal with the

ups and downs of diabetes.

Seek support from other

teens and take action to

manage your diabetes —

one step at a time.

Tips for Teens with Diabetes

Take Charge!

Find out how ➺

Dealing With the Ups

and Downs of Diabetes

National Diabetes Education Program
Speak up There are many people

who care about you and want to help you stay

healthy and happy. Your health care team

(diabetes educator, dietitian, doctor, nurse,

psychologist, and social worker) can help you

learn how to make healthy food choices, be

more active, and feel good about yourself.

Stay in touch with them. Let your health

care team know how you feel and what

you need.

Take it one step at a time!

Mom, Dad, other

family members,

get with it!

It’s easier to manage diabetes

when the whole family works at it

with you. So...

• Ask your family to choose the

same healthy foods you eat—

fruits and vegetables; whole

grain breads; and low-fat meats,

milk, and cheese. Ask them to

keep healthy foods in the house

and not tempt you with cookies,

cake, candy, or regular soda. 

• Get everyone moving by

being more physically active.

Play hard. Shoot hoops, throw 

a ball, ride bikes, or go for a

walk — together. Being active

can also help you relax and 

lower stress.

What’s healthy for you 

is healthy for everyone 

in your family.

Let your school know what’s up

You or your parents need to give the school nurse, teacher, or other

school staff a copy of your diabetes care plan. Let people at your school

know you have diabetes and that you need to eat healthy foods, eat

your meals, take your medicine on time, and be physically active. 

Don’t let diabetes stop you from joining in school activities. You can

do all the things your friends do and then some!

Feelings

Many teens like you deal with diabetes everyday. Most of the time, it’s not a

problem, you just deal with it. But sometimes, you may just want it to go away.

Do you ever...

• Ask “why me?”

• Think you’re the only one who feels sad, mad, alone, afraid, or different?

• Get tired of others teasing you if you are overweight?

• Blame yourself or your family for your diabetes?

All of these feelings are normal. Lots of teens who have diabetes feel the same way. 

It’s okay to get angry, feel sad, or think you’re different every now and then. 

But then you need to take charge and do something to feel better.

Everyone feels down sometimes. You are not alone.

Don’t

let

diabetes 

stop you!

Don’t

let

diabetes 

stop you!

Still down? Reach out for help. Talk to 

someone in your family or where you 

worship, a friend, a school counselor, 

teacher, or your doctor or diabetes educator. 

It might help to write down your feelings in a 

journal. If you still feel down or sad, ask your parents

to help you find a counselor.

It is okay to ask for help.

reach

out
Still my friend?

Ever worry that your friends may have

wrong ideas about diabetes?

• Tell them that you have diabetes. You

don’t have to keep it to yourself. The

more people know about diabetes, the

more they will understand. Explain that your body needs help to use

the food you eat. 

• Be sure everyone knows that no one can catch diabetes from you.

• Good friends help each other out. They understand your needs and

offer support. Hang on to friends who help you make healthy food

choices when you are eating out.

Ever have kids make fun of you about your

diabetes or weight? 

Teasing hurts. The best 

thing is to just walk away.

Want to meet

other teens who

feel like you do?

• Programs and support groups

for teens with diabetes can 

be found in clinics, health 

centers, or hospitals. Ask your

diabetes educator or doctor 

for help to find one that works

for you. 

• Head to a diabetes or weight

loss summer camp. You will do

all the things that other

campers do: swim, hike, dance,

and more. But the best part 

is that everyone has 

diabetes or is there to

lose weight, just like

you. Some groups may

have funds to help pay

for teens to attend summer

camps.

• Find a pen pal or email buddy.

Sometimes it is good to share

how you feel about having 

diabetes with someone else.

• Check out the resources at the

end of this tip sheet.

Take Action!

It’s time for YOU to do something 

about your diabetes care.

• Set goals for what you will do. Start small and work your way up.

For example: “I will cut down on regular soda and drink water

instead.” When that’s going well...take the next step. Add another

goal—“I will dance or bike ride a couple of times a week.” Then add a

new goal—“I will eat smaller servings of cookies, burgers, and fries.”

• Try to make each new goal just a bit harder. After you shoot

hoops twice a week, try adding another activity on three other days.

Raise the goal until you reach a level that works for you.

• Avoid goals that will be too hard to meet. For example, rather

than saying you’ll never eat a burger or a candy bar again, say you’ll

only eat one a week.

• Tell your family or friends about your goals.

Maybe they’ll be active with you or help out some

other way.

• Reward yourself when you reach each goal.

Keep in mind that rewards can be anything—not

just food. You do not have to reach all your goals

at once. Start with one or two, then add more.

Write down your top three goals—

use the chart on the back page!

talk to 

someone...write

down your feelings in

a journal...write to a

pen pal...email a

buddy...stay in

touch

be

active

set

goals

➺ www.YourDiabetesInfo.org
National Diabetes Education Program

for free copies of other tip sheets for teens: 

• What is Diabetes? • Stay at a Healthy Weight

• Be Active • Make Healthy Food Choices

• Lower Your Risk for 

Type 2 Diabetes

www.YourDiabetesInfo.org • 1-888-693-NDEP

Camps for young people with diabetes

www.diabetescamps.org

Parks and Recreation Youth Programs where you live

Type the name of your town or city followed by “parks and

recreation youth programs” into an online search engine.

American Diabetes Association (ADA) for help to 

manage diabetes www.diabetes.org/planetD

• Local ADA: www.diabetes.org/local or 1-800-DIABETES 

(1-800-342-2383) 

• Write to ADA’s Diabetes Forecast Pen Pal Coordinator:

P.O. Box 675, Gainesville, VA 20156

American Dietetic Association to find a dietitian near 

you www.eatright.org • 1-800-366-1655

Bam! Body and Mind website for ten tips to help you 

keep your cool 

www.bam.gov/sub_yourlife/yourlife_feelingfrazzled.html

Children With Diabetes website for pen pals and more for

kids and families with diabetes www.childrenwithdiabetes.com

Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation

International for pen pals and help to manage diabetes

www.jdrf.org • 1-800-223-1138 

National Diabetes Information Clearinghouse for 

more about diabetes www.diabetes.niddk.nih.gov

1-800-860-8747

WIN – Weight-control Information Network for weight

control help 

• Take Charge of Your Health! A Teenager’s Guide to Better Health

www.win.niddk.nih.gov/publications/take_charge.htm

1-877-946-4627

Learn more!

Check out...

Francine Kaufman, M.D., Head, Center for Diabetes, Endocrinology and Metabolism at

Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and Janet Silverstein, M.D., Professor and Chief, Pediatric

Endocrinology, Department of Pediatrics, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 

reviewed this material for technical accuracy.

Special thanks to the teens who 

helped create this tip sheet

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Diabetes Education Program is jointly sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and 

the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention with the support of more than 200 partner organizations. www.YourDiabetesInfo.org or 1-888-693-NDEP

Revised November 2007 NIH Publication No. 08-5558 NDEP-81

Goal 1:

Date set: 

Date met:

Choose goals that you really can meet. Put in 

the date when you set the goal and when you met it.

Write down your

Top 3 Goals

Goal 2:

Date set: 

Date met:

Goal 3:

Date set: 

Date met:

Got it! Take it one step at a time. 

Make healthy food choices, be more active,

and work towards a healthy weight. Soon

you’ll see progress and feel great.

www.YourDiabetesInfo.org