When the body is under stress, it releases hormones that can cause blood glucose levels to rise. This could cause adverse symptoms in individuals with diabetes; however, it is possible to manage.
If you feel threatened or stressed, your body reacts with the ‘fight-or-flight’ response.
During this bodily response, the body releases cortisol and adrenaline into the bloodstream, which in turn causes respiratory rates to rise. If the body can’t adequately process this, it can raise blood glucose levels.
Consistent stress from long-term blood glucose levels can also wear you out physically or mentally. This may make the management of diabetes challenging.
How can diabetes be affected by stress?
Stress can affect people differently. The type of stress you experience can also impact the body’s physical response.
When individuals with type 2 diabetes are stressed, they tend to experience an increase in their blood glucose levels. People who have type 1 diabetes could have a more varied response. This means they can experience either a decrease or an increase in blood glucose levels.
When you are physically stressed, blood sugar can additionally increase. This can happen because of injury or sickness. It can also affect individuals with both types of diabetes.
How can you tell if mental stress is affecting glucose levels?
Observing additional information, like the date and what you did when you became stressed, could help you recognize specific triggers.
For instance, do you always feel stressed about returning to work every Sunday evening? If so, you should be aware of taking special steps on that day (or whatever day(s)) you feel most stressed to decrease your stress and keep your glucose level in check.
You can recognize if this is occurring by recording your glucose and stress levels. After you rate your stress, you should then check your glucose levels. Continue to do this for the next few weeks. Before too long, you could see a pattern begin to emerge.
If you notice your blood glucose is high consistently, your mental stress could negatively affect your blood sugar level.
What are some stress symptoms?
Sometimes, stress symptoms are barely noticeable, and you are unaware of them. However, stress can affect your emotional and mental well-being and impact your physical health.
By recognizing the symptoms, you can identify stress and take additional steps to manage it.
Physical symptoms of stress can include:
- sleeping too little or too much
- headaches or migraines
- muscle tension or pain
- fatigue
- generally feeling ill
Additionally, stress could cause you to feel:
- anxious
- irritable
- restless
- unmotivated
- depressed
It is also common for stressed individuals to engage in behavior that could be out of character, including:
- acting out in anger
- withdrawing from family and friends
- eating too little or too much
- drinking excessively
- tobacco use
How can you reduce your stress levels?
It’s possible to limit or lessen the stressors in life. Here are some things you can do to manage different types of stress.
- reduce intake of caffeine
- regularly exercise
- spend time with those you love
- practice relaxing activities like tai chi or yoga
- practice techniques of mindfulness like meditation
- Avoid known stressors, like being in high-stress social situations
How to cope with stress related to diabetes
If you are feeling anxious or stressed about having diabetes, realize that you are not alone. You can connect with others in your community online for support and solidarity.
Online support groups
Online support groups can offer a strong community and helpful tips to help you cope. Diabetic Connect is an online resource that aims to improve quality of life. It provides recipes, informative videos, and articles.
Face-to-face support groups
For women with diabetes, Diabetes Sisters offers meetups nationwide and in-person groups.
The American Diabetes Association has local offices that focus on community outreach and education, and the Defeat Diabetes Foundation lists peer groups in all states and the District of Columbia. You can search the directory and submit your own listing.
Therapy
You might feel more comfortable speaking with a professional about your stress. A therapist could help you develop coping mechanisms tailored to your individual situation and offer a safe environment to talk. They might also provide medical advice that in-person or online support groups cannot offer.
What can you do?
Although diabetes presents a broad set of challenges, it’s possible to manage it effectively and lead a healthy, happy lifestyle. You can add short meditation sessions or small workouts to your daily routine. You can also look into support groups and locate the one best suited to your lifestyle needs and personality.
Being proactive about your health can help lessen the tension in your day-to-day life.
To wrap up
Mental and physical stress can trigger the release of cortisol and adrenaline into the bloodstream, increasing blood glucose levels.
Unexpected spikes in blood glucose levels may adversely impact an individual’s diabetes management and lead to unwanted symptoms. However, practicing techniques for stress reduction and being aware of stress symptoms can help people manage these occurrences.
