Diabetes and Stress

“I’m stressed!” How many times have you uttered those words this week alone? In today’s fast paced society, it’s hard not to feel under pressure. Add diabetes to the mix and you’re likely to create a volatile combination.

Diabetes alone is enough to leave you feeling anxious:

• Did you remember to take your insulin?
• What food will they be serving at your lunch meeting?
• Should you test your blood sugar before your walk?
• Do you have enough testing supplies to get you through the week?
• Is this Coke really diet?
• Would it be okay for me to eat a small piece of dessert?

You must account for every morsel, taking into consideration the timing and amount of any exercise or delays in meals. I’m stressed just writing about it.

So we both agree diabetes is nerve-racking, but here’s the rub. Stress in patients with both Type 1 and Type 2 diabetes causes a rise in blood sugars. It’s a crazy cycle. Trying to manage blood sugars causes stress, which causes high blood sugar. And high blood sugar causes more stress, which causes higher blood sugars. Help!

Why
First let’s discuss why worry and anxiety cause high blood sugar. When stress occurs, your body responds by releasing hormones such as adrenaline, cortisol and epinephrine. It’s the fight-or-flight response. These hormones create a build up of glucose giving you extra energy to ready your body to take “flight.”

“In people who have diabetes, the fight-or-flight response does not work well,” according to The American Diabetes Association. “Insulin is not always able to let the extra energy into the cells, so glucose piles up in the blood.” This means unaccountable high blood sugars. Have you ever tested your glucose level to find it unreasonably high when you haven’t been sneaking ice cream or fudge? Quite possibly, it was stress.

What
Now you know why stress causes high blood sugar. But what can you do about it? Isn’t that the million dollar question? The answer will be different for each person. While shopping may help me to relieve stress, it may make you want to pluck every hair out of your head. So let’s look at several ways to deal with stress that will meet each person on some level.

1. Take time out

   Carve out time in your busy schedule to do nothing. Some call it creating margins. Have you ever looked at a page of print with little to no margins? I bet it made your eyes spin. Life can be the same. Somewhere on the edges of all your daily responsibilities should be some white space.

   A great way to find time to relax is to schedule it. Take a look at your calendar. Look for days or evenings where you have nothing filled in and plan for “nothing” time. If it’s not penciled in, you will surely fill that time with things that can be put off until later.

2. Exercise

   Whether you go for a 30 minute walk or take an aerobics class, any kind of exercise can alleviate stress. When you get moving, your body produces endorphins, the “feel good” hormones. For those with diabetes, it’s a win-win situation. Exercise will not only reduce stress, thereby lowering the amount of glucose in the system, it also lowers the blood sugar naturally as your body “works” off the levels. Don’t worry about being a fitness buff. Start at your own level and go at your own pace. The important thing is just to do more than you’re doing now.

3. Lend a hand

   My dad always says, “To feel better about yourself, help someone else.” Find a service organization and volunteer your time. Serve at a soup kitchen. Help stock the local food pantry or wash and sort items for a clothes closet. When your focus shifts from your own chaotic life to helping better someone else’s, everyone benefits.

   Stress affects diabetes by raising blood glucose levels. The question is what are you going to do about it? Find what relaxes you and spend some time doing it. And if all else fails, go take a nap.