My Diabetes My Way: June 2026 update


Welcome to the My Diabetes My Way newsletter for June 2026.


Diabetes Awareness Week
This month we have Diabetes Awareness Week from June 8th-14th with this year’s theme being reducing the stigma associated with diabetes. Many people report feeling some stigma around their disease and that it is somehow their fault. Some are also embarrassed to share their diagnosis with friends and family. Diabetes UK is running a campaign to “Strike Out Stigma”.

The campaign aims to show people that nobody chooses diabetes. That it isn’t anyone’s fault. And that by changing the way we talk about diabetes, together we can create a world where diabetes does no harm. Diabetes stigma is the negative attitudes and false assumptions people make about those living with or at risk of diabetes. It impacts people with all types of diabetes, and arises from misconceptions and misunderstandings of the causes, management and realities of diabetes.

Sadly, the stereotypes and misconceptions about diabetes are often internalised by people living with diabetes. This can lead to feelings of shame - people who experience or internalise stigma are more likely to report symptoms of depression, anxiety, diabetes distress and low self-esteem. To find out more about this campaign you can follow the link here: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/support-us/diabetes-week


Million Step Challenge
June is also the month to get organised for the Diabetes UK Million Steps Challenge which runs from July 1st – September 30th. If you can, take on the life challenge to boost your mood and your fitness. You can take it on at your own pace, in your own way. Walking, dancing, or squeezing extra steps into your daily routine – however you step, every step counts.

There are three distances to choose from:

  • 500,000 steps - a perfect start to your stepping journey, you'll take about 5,400 steps a day.
  • 1,000,000 steps - the original challenge, you'll take about 10,800 steps a day.
  • 1,700,000 steps - from Lands End to John O'Groats, you'll take about 18,400 steps a day.

You can find out more about the challenge on the Diabetes UK website: https://www.diabetes.org.uk/support-us/fundraise/fundraising-events/one-million-steps

If you have a Fitbit activity tracker and intend to take part in the challenge, you can link your Fitbit account to your My Diabetes My Way account. This allows you to share your Fitbit data with My Diabetes My Way and monitor your progress in the challenge. To get started, log in to the My Diabetes My Way website and select “My Services”. You can then link your Fitbit account and connect your Fitbit records. When you do this, you will see a new section named “My Activity” where you can monitor your steps, heart rate and many other Fitbit measurements.

Even if you don't own a Fitbit device, you can still track your activity for free by downloading the Fitbit app on your smartphone and using Fitbit’s MobileTrack function. MobileTrack lets you use the Fitbit app without a Fitbit device by using your phone's sensors to track basic activity data including steps, distance, and calories burned. More information on MobileTrack can be found here: https://help.fitbit.com/articles/en_US/Help_article/1875


Men's Health Week
June 15th-21st is Men’s Health Week. The theme is “one step at a time” which emphasises making gradual improvements in health rather than striving for immediate perfection. It promotes sustainable lifestyle changes and early detection of health issues. By focusing on incremental progress, this encourages men to take manageable steps towards better health, whether through diet, exercise, mental health support, or regular medical check-ups, reinforcing that small, consistent actions can lead to significant long-term benefits. Gradually changing your lifestyle is more likely to ensure that you can stick with the changes and ensuring that you attend all your diabetes check ups and eye screening makes a big difference to helping you stay complication free. There are some links to changing your lifestyle at the links below:


New Courses on Cardiovascular Disease
We now have 6 new online courses to support the management of cardiovascular disease on our eLearning site. They have lots of information on different types of cardiovascular disease, such as stroke, circulation problems in your legs and heart failure. You can find these new modules, alongside all our courses to support the management of diabetes, here: https://elearning.mydiabetesmyway.scot.nhs.uk/


Facebook, X and Bluesky
Please remember, you can keep up-to-date with the latest news and useful information on the My Diabetes My Way Facebook, X and Bluesky pages.

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mydiabetesmyway
X (formerly Twitter): https://www.twitter.com/mydiabetesmyway
Bluesky: @mydiabetesmyway.bsky.social‬


Help and Support
If you have not yet managed to gain access to your diabetes records on My Diabetes My Way, or would like an update on the status of your registration, please let us know. You can contact us regarding any problems or request further help and support by emailing: mydiabetes.myway@nhs.scot

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