Divya Joshi: Reclaiming my worth after negative comments about my diabetes diagnosis

Did someone say Season 12?!

My first guest is the lovely Divya Joshi, a university student living in Cardiff, two years into life with type 1 diabetes after being diagnosed in 2022 at the age of 20.

Since her diagnosis type 1 diabetes has not only changed the course of her studies, but she has also had to reclaim her sense of worth after unsolicited comments about her type 1 diabetes diagnosis left her questioning who she was, and even whether her boyfriend should stay with her.

Full of wisdom and insight, Divya speaks from the heart about being rocked by her diagnosis, which led to taking a year off from her studies to focus on getting to grips with the condition - a decision I completely admire and has helped her to move past the self doubt and into a new chapter, becoming a Diabetes UK Young Leader and speaking on the Welsh Parliament Stage.

Now studying a different degree and reclaiming her university experience with a renewed understanding of both her health and herself, we discuss the ways in which diabetes has affected Divya’s life, the resilience it’s built and the purpose she’s found in articulating her struggles through the beautiful spoken word poems she shares on her Instagram page, @creativebydivya.

Divya also offers some practical tips around life at university, and reveals what it was like to appear in the Netflix series Sex Education.

CONNECT WITH DIVYA Follow Divya on Instagram.

JOIN THE TYPE 1 ON 1 COMMUNITY We’ve got an Instagram account! Come and say hi @studiotype1on1.

SPONSOR MESSAGE:

Thanks to my episode sponsors Dexcom.

Pioneer and leader in Real-Time continuous glucose monitors, Dexcom's goal is to simplify and improve diabetes management for every possible person with diabetes.

They have a choice of systems, so you can find the right one for your lifestyle at https://www.dexcom.com/