Stress and Diabetes

Stress and Diabetes

While infrequent bouts of high stress events can keep us alive – think fight or flight survival mode: if you encounter a wild lion, you WANT your body to be stressed, it just might save your life! – chronic low grade stress, on the other hand, can be of great detriment to our health.
One psychologist defines stress this way:

“Any event in which environmental demands, internal demands, or both tax or exceed the adaptive resources of an individual.”  

Whether the stress is environmental, emotional or physical, what happens when we interact with a stressor (positive or negative), is a series of biological adaptations, most significantly an elevation in the hormone cortisol.
Hmmm, can you think of any other conditions that involve hormones?
You got it! Diabetes.
Diabetes is a condition where glucose levels are higher than normal. You’d most likely associate the hormone insulin with diabetes. But one of the effects of cortisol is to raise sugar levels to prepare the body to fight or run – meaning the hormone cortisol can contribute to high glucose levels.
Too much stress can contribute to elevated glucose levels, or lack of ability to gain good control.
This is one of the additional benefits of exercise – it helps mitigate the effects of cortisol. As you engage your body in physical activity, cortisol is reduced and thereby reduces sugar levels.
Even though stress can often seem emotional in nature, the body is a cohesive unit and therefore we can experience a whole range of physical side effects, including inflammation.

5 Practical Tips to Deal with Stress

Here are some practical empowering tips to help you reduce stress:

1. Set Boundaries.

Set boundaries with whom you spend time and what you commit to. Learn to say ‘no.’
This is hard for many people, especially women who want to please everyone. If you aren’t well taken care of, how will you do a good job with the things you are committed to?
Figure out the things that are most important and necessary in life and give your time and energy to those.

2. Be Careful When Watching the News.

It’s good to know what’s going on in the world, but much of the time, news isn’t just the facts, but stories with dark and dramatic twists and spins designed to engage you emotionally.
Reporters know that fear draws attention–don’t give in to it!

3. Plan Your Response.

Prepare your mindset in advance.
Many of the things we stress over are the same issues we’ve stressed over earlier that week, month, or year and those circumstances are likely to come up again.
If you can do something about it, great–fix it! And if not, decide what a better response would be, and work to conform your thinking to that pattern.

4. Cultivate Gratitude.

Consider the wonderful blessings in your life and spend some time thinking about all that is positive in your life.
Sure, there may be negatives and concerns. But there are lots of positive things to be grateful for too.
Focusing on the positive will not only help mitigate some of the negativity around you, but it will also help remind you of the great things you do have to be thankful for.

5. Develop Right Perspective.

Try to take a big step outside the picture you’re in and ask yourself whether it is something worth stressing over. Is it really as big of a deal as you’re making out of it?
It’s also sometimes helpful to ask whether the stress is actually helping the situation – often you’ll realize it is not.
Finally, imagine a close friend or family member going through what you are and consider how you would advise them. Often times we are better at taking care of others than we are ourselves.

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