What is The Impact of Stress on Diabetes and How to Be Mitigated?

16 يونيو 2024

The process of treating diabetes lasts a lifetime, and this can increase the stress in your daily life. Stress can be a prime barrier to glucose control - hormones that stress causes to be released directly into your body can affect glucose levels. If you feel stressed or threatened, your body reacts to this, which is called a fight-or-flight response -it raises hormone levels and triggers neurons.

During this response, the body releases adrenaline and cortisol into your bloodstream, increasing your breathing rates. The body directs blood to the muscles and limbs, allowing you to cope with the situation. Your body may not process the glucose produced by damaged nerve cells if you have diabetes. If you can't convert glucose into energy, it will accumulate in your bloodstream. This leads to high levels in the blood.

The constant stress caused by long-term problems with your blood glucose can cause you to become mentally and physically stressed, which makes it difficult to treat your diabetes.

How can different types of stress affect diabetes?

Stress can affect people differently, and the type of stress you experience can also affect your physical response.

When people with type 2 diabetes are under stress, they generally experience an increase in blood sugar levels. While people with type 1 diabetes have a more varied response, it means they can experience an increase or decrease in blood sugar levels.

Blood sugar can also rise when you're under physical stress or fatigue; this happens when you're sick or injured. This can affect people with type 1 or type 2 diabetes.

Type 1 diabetes occurs when the body attacks the cells of the pancreas, the organ responsible for making insulin, while type 2 diabetes occurs when the body can't produce enough insulin. So, type 1 diabetes is an autoimmune disease, while type 2 diabetes is caused by lifestyle factors.

How can you determine if stress is affecting your glucose levels?

Following up on additional information, such as previous situations and what you were doing when you felt stressed, may help you identify specific triggers. For example, do you feel more stressed on Monday morning at the beginning of the week? If so, you now know that you should take special steps Monday morning to reduce stress and keep your glucose level under control.

You can tell if this is happening to you by measuring your stress and glucose levels. If you're feeling stressed, rate your stress level on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 representing the highest level of stress. Write down this number.

After a stress assessment, you should measure your glucose levels. Keep doing this for a couple of weeks, as you may see a pattern appear in a short period. If you notice that your glucose level rises regularly, it is likely that the stress you're experiencing is negatively affecting your blood sugar.

What are the stress symptoms?

Stress symptoms are sometimes subtle, and you may not notice them. Stress can affect your mental, emotional, and physical health as well. So, noticing your symptoms can help you identify stress and take steps to deal with it.

If you are nervous, you may experience the following:

Headache.
Muscle aches or cramps.
Sleeping too much or too little.
A general feeling of illness.
Fatigue.

Moreover, stress can also make you feel like you:

Unmotivated.
Irritable.
Depressed.
Worry and feel insomniac.

It is also common for people who are stressed to act out of character, which may include:

Isolation from friends and family.
Increase in eating or vice versa.
Behave angrily.
Alcohol overuse.
Smoking.

How to reduce your stress level?

It is possible to minimize or reduce stressors in your life. Here are some things you can do to deal with the effects of different forms of stress:

1. Reduce Stress:

Meditation can help eliminate negative thoughts and allow your mind to relax, so try to start your morning with a 15-minute meditation practice. This will help you stay in your mood for the rest of the day.

Sit on a chair with your feet firmly on the floor, and close your eyes. Say something that makes sense to you, such as, “I'll have a good day,” or “I feel at peace with the world.” Pay off any other thoughts that occupy your mind, and allow yourself to be present now.

2. Reduce Emotional Stress:

If you find yourself in an unwanted emotional state, give yourself some time alone. Stay away from your current surroundings, and find a quiet place to focus on your breathing.

Put your hand on your belly, and feel it as it rises and falls. Inhale deep breaths, and release them slowly and loudly. This will slow your heartbeat and help bring you back to a stable emotional state. This focus on your body may improve the way you handle whatever is causing you stress.

3. Reduce Physical Stress:

Adding yoga to your daily routine can provide physical activity and meditation at the same time, and practicing yoga can also lower your blood pressure. Regardless of whether it's yoga or any other form of exercise, you should aim for 30 minutes of cardiovascular exercise daily. You can do 10 minutes of exercise when you wake up, 10 minutes in the afternoon, and 10 minutes before going to bed.

4. Reduce family stress:

If you're overwhelmed with family commitments, remember that it's okay to disagree with everything. Your family will know if you can't attend all the events. If the stress is caused by not communicating with your family as much as you want, try to spend a fun night with the family weekly or biweekly, where you can spend time playing board games, participating in outdoor activities, such as hiking, swimming, or participating in a fun group tour.

5. Reduce Work Stress:

Work issues can accompany you home, so talk to your supervisor if you're having difficulty at work, as there may be options to solve or mitigate any problems you may be experiencing in abundance.

If that doesn't help, consider moving to a different department or even looking for an entirely new job. Although stress levels are high when looking for a new job, they may stabilize when you find one that is more suited to your skills and personality.

How to cope with the stress associated with diabetes?

If you're feeling stressed about your condition, know that you're not alone; you can connect with people online or in your surroundings to feel solidarity and support:

1. Online Support Groups:

If you're a Facebook user, consider following the Diabetes Support Group, which offers helpful tips and a sturdy community to help you cope. Diabetic Connect is also a resource dedicated to improving your online quality of life, providing informative articles, recipes, and videos.

2. Personal support groups:

For women with diabetes, Diabetes Sisters offers nationwide meetups. The group started in North Carolina and has expanded due to its popularity, and they now offer a range of in-person meetups across the country. These informal meetings are held on weekend nights and usually last an hour or two.

The Defeat Diabetes Foundation also offers a list of peer support groups in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. You can also search the directory and submit your own list. The American Diabetes Association also offers local offices focused on education and community outreach.

3. Psychotherapy:

You may feel more comfortable talking with a specialist about your stress. A therapist can provide you with coping mechanisms tailored to your situation and give you a safe environment to talk to. They can also provide medical advice that in-person or online support groups cannot provide.

In conclusion:

Although diabetes can present a different set of challenges, it is possible to effectively treat it and pursue a happy and healthy lifestyle. You can do this by adding short meditation sessions or small exercises to your daily routine. You can also search for support groups and find one that suits your personality and lifestyle needs. Taking the initiative for treatment will help you relieve stress in your life.