Find Your Purpose Through Diabetes
If you are newly diagnosed, there may be a temptation to focus on all that diabetes puts in your way or takes away from you. It is natural to conclude that something terrible and unfair has happened and that you are a victim of circumstance. But what if you tried to consider the things that diabetes makes possible?
It gives me such a warm feeling within myself to know that I helped somebody so that they are living their life instead of their life living them.
Diabetes is your body trying to tell you to care for it in a new way which YOU ABSOLUTELY CAN DO, especially after learning a few tips and tricks about food and exercise. These lessons can help you experience a newfound respect for yourself.
You may even become someone other people with diabetes can turn to for guidance and support, companionship and friendship. When that happens, its easy to see that an unwelcome diagnosis can become a source of purpose, an invitation to meaning and an opportunity to be awesome.
Can Stress & Anxiety Cause Diabetes
Everyone experiences stress at some point in their lives that can result in worry, anxiety, and tension. Stress affects everyone to some degree, but it may be more difficult to manage when people learn that they have diabetes.
Diabetes is a relentless disease that requires constant attention, awareness, and decision-making. Diabetes self-management can therefore be demanding, complex and stressful. In fact, it´s a wrenching dilemma as diabetes gets you stressed out and the stress worsens your diabetes. Learn also how diabetes can cause sleep deprivation.
Take A Break From The Busy World
Taking time for yourself every day can help you feel calm, and can also give you the opportunity to think about the stresses in your life and how you can cope. Think about what soothes you, and try to incorporate it into your daily activities, for example:
- Run yourself a warm bath and relax in the soothing warmth.
- Listen to your favourite music, while you sing or hum along.
- Sit down with a good book or magazine and read a few pages.
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Does Emotional Stress Affect Blood Glucose Levels
Studies are relatively clear on the fact emotional stress raises your blood glucose in the short term.
This happens because elevated emotional stress levels can elicit a biological fight-or-flight response. Then, your body releases cortisol that increases your blood glucose so that you have energy available to survive.
In the case of chronic stress, this process happens again and again, which can be very damaging for both your mental health and your immune system.
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Healthy habits such as staying physically active and eating well can help reduce the negative effects of stress. Larks stress management coaching also walks you through stress management techniques, from acknowledging stress to deep breathing to visualization.
Living a healthier lifestyle when you have prediabetes can have amazing payoffs in terms of long-term health and wellness. Stress can throw a wrench into the loop, but stress management can help keep you as healthy as possible. Lark DPP can help you manage stress and make smart choices that fit into your lifestyle so they can become habits.
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Fear Diabetes And Anxiety
Fear is a big part of anxiety and easily a big part of living with diabetes. Anyone with diabetes, at any age, could develop enough fear around a particular aspect of living with diabetes that it becomes a significant struggle to manage their diabetes well, or it begins impacting other aspects of their day-to-day life.
These diabetes-related fears could include:
- High blood sugars
- Insulin pump infusion site application
- CGM arrows of increasing or decreasing blood sugar levels
- Carbohydrates or other specific food groups
- Blood sugar fluctuations at work, school, playground, swimming, etc.
- Developing a diabetes complication
One of the most common fears that develop in people with diabetes is a fear of low blood sugars. Lets take a closer look at this.
Can High Blood Sugar Cause Anxiety
If you have a chronic disease such as diabetes, do you often get anxious and stressed out? Have you ever pondered over can high blood sugar cause anxiety?
Diabetes is typically a manageable metabolic disorder, however, it can result in anxiety. For some people, concerns related to daily blood glucose level monitoring, long term health effects can create added stress.
Read on to find out more about the association between high blood sugar and anxiety and if anxiety can result in high blood sugar levels as well.
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The Wrong Way To Deal With Stress When You Have Diabetes
Food, alcohol, self-pity: These unhealthy coping mechanisms do more harm than good. When were stressed out, we turn to unhealthy food comfort food and we may start eating a lot of sweets, Belfort De Aguiar says. These are the wrong ways to cope with stress.
Also, find ways to reach out and find social connection with your loved ones. Campbell also warns against keeping your emotions bottled up inside. Be sure to share your stress, she says, even it just means having someone listen to you vent.
For more on dealing with diabetes burnout, check out Diabetes Daily’s article “How to Get Out of a Diabetes Rut“!
Blood Sugar Level Charts For People With Diabetes
The American Diabetes Association suggests the following targets for most non-pregnant adults with diabetes:
| Type of patient |
|---|
Children, teens, and adolescents with diabetes should aim to keep within these ranges:
| Age |
|---|
| 6-12 years old |
| 7.5% |
The A1c test looks at how good your blood glucose control has been over a period of 3 months. These values are a guide. Your doctor will provide you with a personal management plan.
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What Types Of Stressors Do You Have In Your Life
Stress is a part of life, whether or not you have diabetes. Common sources of stress include work duties and responsibilities . Family commitments can also be a great source of stress .
Diabetes itself brings with it a number of everyday stresses, all of which can take a toll on your emotional and mental health. Common stresses associated with diabetes include:
- Managing your medication regimen.
- Preparing healthy meals.
- Making sure that you get enough physical activity.
The amount of attention that must be paid to all of these responsibilities can seem overwhelming.
What Happens In Your Body When You Get Stressed
Stress hormones have a big role to play.
When youre experiencing physical or emotional stress, hormones are released that increase your blood sugar. Cortisol and adrenaline are other primary hormones involved.
This is a perfectly natural response. For example, if youre being chased by a barking dog or youre in a dangerous situation, you need these hormones to prepare your body for a fight or flight situation.
But when youre stressed, your body releases these hormones, even if there isnt a major physical threat involved.
The result? Higher blood pressure, increased heart rate and a rise in blood sugar.
The problem becomes more complicated.
If youre consistently under stress, your hormones and sugar will continue to surge.
Over time, this can put you at risk for:
- Heart disease
This is one reason why its so important to treat your stress and anxiety.
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Role Of Stress In The Onset Of Diabetes
Stressful experiences have been implicated in the onset of diabetes inindividuals already predisposed to developing the disease. As early as thebeginning of the 17th century, the onset of diabetes was linked toprolonged sorrow by an Englishphysician.
Since then, a number of research studies have identified stressors such asfamily losses and workplace stress as factors triggering the onset ofdiabetes, both type 1 and type 2. For example, Thernlund etal. suggested thatnegative stressful experiences in the first 2 years of life may increase therisk of developing type 1 diabetes in children. Other factors, such as highfamily chaos and behavioral problems, were also implicated. Other research hasalso supported the hypothesis that stressful experiences can lead to increasedrisk for developing type 1 or type 2diabetes.
In a large population-based survey of glucose intolerance, Mooy etal. demonstrated anassociation between stressful experiences and the diagnosis of type 2diabetes. Although this was a cross-sectional study, the authors investigatedstress levels in people with previously undetected diabetes in order to ruleout the possibility that the disease itself influenced reports of stressfulexperiences. They also took other factors into account, such as alcoholconsumption, physical activity level, and education.
What To Do If You Have A Blood Sugar Spike
For those with diabetes, having a blood sugar spike can be dangerous because too much sugar in the blood passes into the urine. This triggers the body to filter out the fluid, which could lead to dehydration or a diabetic coma.
In the event that blood sugar levels spike because of stressors that cannot be managed, its vital to make managing your blood glucose a priority. You can do this by focusing on things you can control, such as your diet and exercise, checking your blood sugar regularly, and taking your medications as instructed by your physician.
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What Are The Symptoms Of Stress
Sometimes, the symptoms of stress are subtle and you may not notice them. Stress can take a toll on your mental and emotional well-being, and it can also impact your physical health. Recognizing the symptoms can help you identify stress and take steps to manage it.
If youre stressed, you may experience:
- headaches
Its possible to lessen or limit the stressors in your life. Here are a few things that you can do to manage the effects of different forms of stress.
When Stress Strikes Closely Monitor Your Blood Sugar
When youre stressed, you should be monitoring and checking your sugars to see if the stress is having an effect or not, Dr. Belfort De Aguiar says. Simply being aware that stressful situations can affect blood sugar can prepare you to make adjustments. When youre under a lot of stress, thats when you want to be really on top of your blood sugar, Campbell says. Its the time to hone your self-care behaviors.
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The Effects Of Mental Stress On Non
August 24, 2019
DOI:10.7759/cureus.5474
Cite this article as:Wong H, Singh J, Go R M, et al. The Effects of Mental Stress on Non-insulin-dependent Diabetes: Determining the Relationship Between Catecholamine and Adrenergic Signals from Stress, Anxiety, and Depression on the Physiological Changes in the Pancreatic Hormone Secretion . Cureus 11: e5474. doi:10.7759/cureus.5474
Types Of Diabetes And Their Major Causes
Diabetes is mainly of 3 types, type 1, type 2, and gestational diabetes, and with all 3 types of diabetes, the body is either not able to produce enough insulin or unable to use the insulin that it makes, leading to high blood sugar levels.Type 1 Diabetes usually starts in childhood and carries on for life. Type 1 Diabetes occurs when the patients pancreas stops making insulin. The causes of Type 1 Diabetes are:
- Family History and Genetics: A person having a close relative with Type 1 Diabetes usually has a high chance of getting the condition himself. So, it is imperative for every child with a parent or a sibling having Type 1 Diabetes to undergo a screening test for Type 1 Diabetes.
- Pancreatic Diseases: Persons with diseased pancreas may acquire Type 1 Diabetes because the pancreas may fail to produce insulin needed to maintain normal blood sugar levels.
- Infections or Illnesses that Cause Damage to the Pancreas: Viral infections such as German measles, mumps, and rotavirus may cause damage to the beta cells of the pancreas which produce insulin and lead to the development of Type 1 Diabetes.
Type 2 Diabetes occurs when the body develops insulin resistance and is not able to make use of the insulin produced by the pancreas, leading to uncontrolled blood sugar levels. Type 2 Diabetes usually affects adults, but it can occur in individuals of any age. The main causes of Type 2 Diabetes include:
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What Is Anxiety And How Might It Affect People With Type 2 Diabetes
Everyone experiences anxiety from time to time, but for someone with an anxiety disorder, feelings of worry and fear are overwhelming or uncontrollable and they persist and may even worsen over time, notes the Mayo Clinic.
People with anxiety may have intrusive thoughts, avoid certain situations that cause distress, and have physical symptoms like high blood pressure. An anxiety disorder is just as much a medical condition as diabetes is.
The difference between everyday anxiety and a clinical diagnosis is how much the anxiety affects your life. A clinical diagnosis really requires that degree of impairment in your life where youre not able to fulfill major obligations, says Nicole Bereolos, PhD, MPH, a clinical psychologist and certified diabetes care and education specialist in Dallas.
Although people with anxiety can care for their family and perform tasks at their job, anxiety can affect how well someone is able to attend to those obligations, Dr. Bereolos says.
Stress Activates Our Fat Cells
That isnât the end of the story for cortisol. Cortisol also triggers an enzyme in our fat cells that helps relocate fat from storage deposits around the body to fat cell deposits deep in the abdomen, also known as visceral fat cells. Stress can actually cause many people to accumulate more belly fat. The more stress you have, the more cortisol is in your body and the more abdominal fat youâll find.In studies, these central fat cells have been linked to not only a greater risk for heart disease, but also a higher risk for diabetes. If you already have diabetes, your condition can grow worse because of an overall elevated level of stress and cortisol in your system.Not only that, but cortisol also increases food cravings, which are already hard to manage with diabetes.
Stress-induced cortisol increases food cravings, making it even harder to manage your dietBut it’s ok to snack! If you haven’t had a chance to see it, we’ve posted a blog on 5 “Swap” Food that Decrease Stress. Just remember, everything in moderation.
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