Stress may come in many different forms, physical stressors such as an illness or emotional stressors like sadness and anger. Regardless of form, stress can cause complications for proper management of diabetes. Stress not only biologically impacts blood glucose levels, but it may also deter your ability to carefully manage your diabetes. According to the American Diabetes Association, it is imperative to learn a variety of ways to relax and reduce mental stress.
Our bodies were designed to handle stress, secreting hormones originally designed to sustain vital functioning in the midst life-threatening dangers – like a caveman – hunting for food or defending shelter. Today, most forms of stress are not as life-threatening, but our bodies react the same – storing fat, reducing insulin sensitivity and lowering immune function. Something as simple as a traffic jam or a big interview can activate this defense mechanism for the short-term. When the perceived danger has been alleviated, your system generally returns to normal. On the other hand, long-term stressors such as a demanding boss or parenting a troublesome teenager can cause this system to go into over drive continuously secreting hormones and wreaking havoc on the body.
Stress and Diabetes
For a healthy individual, the effects of stress are harmful, but the damage is often minimal and may be reduced with simple relaxation techniques. Diabetics, however suffer much greater consequences when stressed. Under stress, the insulin secreted to reduce elevated blood glucose levels is either unable to do its job or is not secreted at all, resulting in build-up of glucose.
Scientists have found that people with type 2 diabetes experience an increase in blood glucose when mentally stressed, while type 1 diabetics have generally mixed physiological reactions to mental stress. Both type 1 and type 2 diabetics, however see raised glucose levels when enduring physical stress.
Managing Stress
Physical stressors are often out of our control. Taking measures to live a healthy lifestyle by eating a balanced diet, participating in routine physical activity and getting plenty of sleep, can help prevent the occurrence of many physical stressors.
Mental stress is nearly impossible to avoid and sometimes, equally as difficult to treat. Making changes to your life and your routine may help you avoid some triggers of mental stress. For example, if traffic jams induce an elevated heart rate and road rage behavior, you may want to consider leaving extra early for work or discover a less crowded route. If your job is to blame for your stressed-out state, consider chatting with your boss about solutions to what is bothering you about your work. Seeking resolution to the things that are bothering you will help reduce stress, but for the things that you cannot change, physical activity and fun hobbies can be an effective way to take your mind off of everything and reduce the effects of stress.
Stressful feelings that never disappear, despite your best efforts to alleviate the stressors and relax, may be a sign of a deeper issue. Many diabetic patients also suffer from hormone imbalances that contribute to complications of the disease and impair general quality of life. Hormones like cortisol and progesterone can be out-of-whack, magnifying mood swings, sleeplessness and anxiety- all symptoms of stress.
Reducing Diabetes-related Stress
Living with diabetes is often a primary source of stress and, unfortunately, one that may never fully disappear. Nonetheless, there are ways to reduce the stresses of living with diabetes.
Join a support group. Making new friends and learning from others who are experiencing the same things as you, is an effective way to lighten the burden of stress associated with diabetes.
Lifestyle changes. Reduce the negative effects of diabetes and alleviate a great deal of stress by changing a few habits. Controlling your weight, eating right, exercising, monitoring your blood glucose levels and taking all medications as instructed can make all the difference in your quality of life when dealing with diabetes.
Hormone therapy. Never-ending feelings of stress linked to hormones can often be treated with bioidentical hormone therapy. Many doctors that specialize in preventive medicine offer plans for total wellness, including hormone therapy in conjunction with lifestyle changes.
If you feel overwhelmed, seek the advice and care of your health care professional. They will be able to recommend a therapist or counselor who can help you manage the stresses related to diabetes.