Trigger Warning: This episode includes honest conversations about identity, stigma, mental health, and personal health experiences, including references to suicidal thoughts. Viewer discretion is advised. If you or someone you know is struggling, help is available.
What happens when the world makes you explain who you are… twice? Once for being LGBTQ+, and again for living with Type 1 diabetes. In this unapologetically real episode of Community Table, host Tiana Cooks sits down with Mason Prévost, a transgender man and health coach, and David Bella, a proud gay storyteller, for a bold, emotional conversation about identity, stigma, and survival.
Together, they open up about growing up with diabetes while discovering their identities, navigating rejection and misgendering, and the mental toll of always having to justify their care. But this episode isn’t just about hardship, it’s about what happens when you choose truth, find community, and reclaim your space. From locker room trauma to chosen family to hormone therapy, nothing is off-limits.
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Timestamps:
00:00 – Introduction & Topic Overview
01:32 – Growing Up with Type 1 & Coming Out
02:35 – David’s Teen Struggles with Diabetes
04:28 – Coming Out & Family Rejection
05:15 – Deciding to Transition
06:11 – Harassment in the Locker Room
07:53 – Coming Out as Trans to Family
09:28 – Does Transition Affect Diabetes?
11:00 – Coping with Stigma & Burnout
11:58 – Finding Chosen Family
13:00 – Exercise as Therapy
13:37 – What Healthcare Providers Should Know
14:57 – Words of Encouragement
15:28 – Final Thoughts & Wrap-Up
Topics Discussed:
• Growing up with T1D while navigating LGBTQ+ identity
• Coming out experiences and their impact on diabetes management
• Mental health challenges (rebellion, depression, anxiety) and coping strategies
• Facing stigma and harassment (in healthcare settings, gyms, and families)
• The importance of support networks, “chosen family,” and community
• Managing diabetes through gender transition (hormone therapy effects and healthcare hurdles)
• Advice for healthcare providers on inclusive, understanding care
• Encouragement for others to live authentically and seek support
Resources & Links:
• Need support? You're not alone. Call or text 988 24/7. Free, confidential support for anyone in emotional distress. Learn more at https://988lifeline.org
• Need help affording insulin? Find a plan at https://www.getinsulin.org
• Mental Health Risks Among LGBTQ Youth With Diabetes: https://beyondtype1.org/mental-health...
• How to Find LGBTQ+-Affirming Healthcare: https://beyondtype1.org/guide-lgbtq-r...
• Community Story – Transgender With Diabetes (Gender-Affirming Healthcare): https://beyondtype1.org/healthcare-su...
• Dealing with Diabetes Burnout & Mental Health: https://beyondtype1.org/diabetes-burn...
• LGBTQIA+ Health Education Center (training & resources for care providers): https://www.lgbtqiahealtheducation.org
• Guide for Providers – Culturally Sensitive LGBTQ+ Diabetes Care: https://beyondtype1.org/providing-cul...
• The Trevor Project’s Ally Guide (Supporting Trans & Nonbinary Youth): https://www.thetrevorproject.org/reso...
Meet us here on the third Friday of every month for a diabetes discussion that spotlights the lived diabetes experience, challenges perspectives, and sparks connection and change.
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Website: https://www.beyondtype1.org/community...
Special thanks to our episode guests and the Beyond Type 1 community. Community Table is presented by Beyond Type 1 and made possible with support from Dexcom and Lilly.
Community Table is a Beyond Type 1 original video series.
• Hosted by: Tiana Cooks
• Produced by: Dez Lopez
• Video Editor: Max Amido
• Strategic Content Review: Turner Barrowman and Melanie Batchelor, MHS, RD, LDN, CDCES
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