Shaun Perry has lived with diabetes for a decade, but it took him a while to get the message

Nearly a decade ago Mr Perry's GP told him he could be pre-diabetic, prescribed him some medication, asked him to lose some weight and avoid fizzy drinks and other junk food.

He was fit and healthy, he thought, so it was a while before he really understood the issue at hand.

"I was drinking 650ml of soft drink every day and not even thinking about it, and I still wasn't taking it that seriously,'' he said.

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He went to MLHD diabetes educator Mark Taylor, and as the pair spoke casually the penny dropped.

"We were talking about getting on the drink. He asked when my sugar levels were the highest and I said when I drink ... they want you to be between 6 and 8, I can get up to 10, 11," he said.

Mr Perry assumed this was normal, but Mr Taylor plainly told him that he wasn't like other people. His insulin doesn't kick in to counteract the spike.

"I said, "So I really am a diabetic?'... I didn't realise that, I said, 'you're the first bloke to really tell me'."

Mr Perry, 57, has lived with type 2 diabetes since then, but he feels relatively lucky, he said.

While he lives with the added stress of watching what he eats and staying healthy, many people are unaware they have the condition and the first hint comes when they end up in the emergency department.

It's estimated that up to 500,000 people have undiagnosed type 2 diabetes.

Last week was Diabetes Awareness Week and for Diabetes Australia spokesperson Renza Scibilia, this year is not only about awareness, but rethinking the condition altogether.

"We know that diabetes and mental health go hand in hand," she said.

"Our research shows that around 700,000 people with diabetes around Australia reported that they've faced mental health challenges in the last year.

And more than half of those people haven't been able to find support when they've needed it, she said.

"We have things like diabetes-stress and diabetes-burnout, which are related specifically to living with a chronic health condition," she said.

"A person with diabetes makes up to an extra 180 decisions every single day."

Both diabetes and mental health struggles are often 'invisible' conditions, and therefore we should be rethinking the way we treat people with diabetes in Australia, Ms Scibilia said.

Mr Taylor agrees and suggests that a mental health plan should be part of routine diabetes care.

"One thing we see as educators a lot, is people learning to deal with the things they need to learn, how to check blood glucose level, insulin, can often be easier than the burden that comes with the burden of living with a chronic disease," he said.

"We're seeing the need for that mental health care increasing."

Mr Perry sees himself as a cautionary tale, he takes his health very seriously these days and he urges people to do the same.

"You've got to get yourself checked ... you've got to have a bit of a scare, or a wake up call, before you really take notice and for some people it's too late," he said.

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