Nate Bargatze’s Illness Story: How Comedy Helps Him Cope with Diabetes

 

This paper presents a closer conceptual look at type I diabetes, with a special focus on Explaining Nate Bargatze’s experience and the illness journey that he has faced.

Most people are familiar with Nate Bargatze as a comedienne with a poignant, everyday-anecdote humor, but he or she has also shared his experience of having Type 1 diabetes. He also uses social media for the purpose of advocacy in bringing inform about his condition, but at the same time offering support and creating a platform for others going through a similar ordeal. This paper takes a closer look into the Type 1 diabetes, Bargatze, and how he has embraced the condition and helped to raise awareness. What is Type 1 Diabetes? Type 1 diabetes on the other hand is characterized as a disease that affects the insulin producing cells within the pancreas that produce little or no insulin. While Type 2 is related to certain bodily features and is usually developed in mid life, Type 1 diagnosed at childhood, teenage or in a young adult sometimes middle aged individuals. Though, the cause of Type 1 diabetes is not well understood, but this is through research that it has been found to be the work of inherited genes associated with susceptibility to the onset of the disease and the outing of environmental factors that lead to attack of the insulin producing beta cell of the pancreas. The signs of type 1 diabetes include increased frequency of thirst, more frequent need to urinate, increased hunger, fatigue, and blurred sight. If uncontrolled, it can cause Diabetic ketoacidosis which is dangerous for the life of the patient as well as affects the essential organs in the long-run. Nate Bargatze’s Diagnosis Nate Bargatze has openly talked about having Type 1 diabetes since he was officially diagnosed at thirty years old. It was a progressive diagnosis that was given to him at a time when he was on his way up as a popular comedian. Bargatze mentioned symptoms such as excessive thirst and constant urination and only got a diagnosis from a doctor. Estes was diagnosed with a disease that is usually related to younger people, however, he or she had all the usual difficulties that are related to the changed lifestyle focused on monitoring blood sugar levels. Personal Experiences and Challenges The rise of this stage affected Bargatze through change of new routines and additional responsibilities of a diagnosed patient. They require therefore to regulating, monitoring of blood sugar levels, administering of insulin and carbohydrate diet control. Such demands become very difficult for someone like Bargatze, who has an active lifestyle, most likely involving travelling and lots of performances. The main limitation that Bargatze faced was conflict of interest between performance of his duty and management of diabetes. The lifestyle entails late nights and injudicious consumption of meals; factors that hinder any efforts to manage blood sugar. Bargatze has elaborated on the challenges that come with managing his health given the unpredictability of a comedian’s lifestyle. This is often a sign that he or she should have easy access to food especially sugary foods and should also have his or her insulin in every location he frequents. Coping Mechanisms and Lifestyle Adjustments This section gives a view of how Nate Bargatze goes through daily life with Type 1 diabetes using both morale especially humor and strength. He has been able to give fairly lengthy narratives on some of the events of his life and turned them into comedic material because of the ridiculousness of situations that this condition puts him in. Thus, he educates his viewers not only about the existence of diabetes but also about coping with the disease for those who are not well-versed in the matter. One of the main changes that Bargatze had to make was technology involvement in managing diabetes. He uses CGMs to get current blood sugar values and insulin pumps that give much better control than insulin shots. These have to a large extent made it easier to handle the condition and they do have their own learning curves as well as maintenance schedules. Besides, it is crucial for a person such as Bargatze to enhance his or her access to technological support and the necessary diet changes. He consults the nutritionists to agreed diet regimes which gives instituted energy to avoid occasioned floods of sugar level in the blood. This sometimes entails not taking foods that are rich in carbohydrates but ensuring that one takes balanced meals that are rich in proteins, healthy fats and carbohydrates. Advocacy and Awareness Nate Bargatze has not hidden his Type 1 diabetes from the general public and is always ready to share information about the disease to other people. He openly discusses the feelings and emotions as he received the diagnosis and stresses the need for mental health interventions in persons with chronic diseases. Bargatze’s story helps people get rid of the idea that those who have the diabetes should suffer alone, and it is another powerful message of hope. Also, Bargatze continues to support fundraising events and campaigns that target towards diabetes and the help raise funds for the patients. His participation underlines the important research that needs to be done to improve the knowledge about the illness and the ways to treat it and perhaps, one day, cure it. Impact on His Comedy Notably, his condition of diabetes also intervenes in the content of Bargatze’s joker in a way that establishes him or her as relatable acceptably. His jokes of most of them set at home, they mostly involve tricks of life experiences that are universally seen and enjoyed. They like to see him make light of the situations he struggles with concerning diabetes, as this was quite insightful for people with diabetes. There are certainly aspects of the persona that Bargatze has conveyed in specific interviews about the satiric value of his performance; nonetheless, by revealing a form of diabetes as a personal experience, he is in turn gaining the audience’s trust as people would feel more familiar with him. He frequently educates his audience about stereotypes of diabetes – although in a comic manner to some extent. Conclusion Explaining the story of Nate Bargatze it is easy to see that Type 1 diabetes is not a sentence that has to kill the dream and take away the smile on your face. Thus, he helps many people become aware of this type of disease, as well as gives hope to those who also have to fight sickness and stay strong. In the aspects of advocacy and life management and patience, his passion and sense of humor towards his condition creates a strong message of unity, education, and community in the fight against chronic illnesses. New technologies and studies are constantly being developed, and thus there may be a way to manage and possibly even cure, Type 1 diabetes. Before then, therefore, there are people like Nate Bargatze who act as ambassadors and who encourage people to face their situations with hope and spirit. By being himself, sobbing and ‘fighting for change,’ Bargatze is a strong figure that continue to push through changes and advocacies and show that even a comedian can bring a message of change through laughter.