Denial is the psychological state in which one feels exempt from reality. But if you have diabetes, denial, used as an excuse to NOT practice good self-management, is about as subtle as drinking slow poison. There are many reasons, most having more to do with a person's self-image and psychological state than with the nature of the disease. Like the onset of grey hair and arthritis, the demands of diabetes remind the sufferer that he is not eternal. Some folks don't want to hear it, and tune it out.
Some people get mad.
For one who believes this, to admit diabetes is to admit character defect. WE KNOW diabetes is not a character defect, but for many, this ancient belief system is still quite real. Some folks have been misinformed about their diabetes. There have been great changes in what we know about this condition, and in how it is best treated. Research has given us new medications, better glucose monitors, less painful syringes, new ways to schedule testing and medication, more convenient meal-planning techniques, safer and more widely available transplantation, and the real hope of a cure.