Stress is a Serious Contributor to Diabetes
Stress is a Serious Contributor to Diabetes
One of the most serious and common issues that diabetics face isn’t an issue concerning bodily damage or anything strictly physical, but rather something mental: stress.
Stress is something that people all around the world, both diabetics and non-diabetics, struggle with fairly often. For diabetics, stress affects them a bit differently on a technical level.
When your body’s stress hormones are activated, they cause your body to begin producing extra hormones and stocking up on glucose. In nature, this was helpful for us so that we could be prepared to fight or run in the event of an attack by another human or by an animal.
However, these days, stress is caused by less urgent things, and is a lot less helpful. The increased storage of glucose can mean serious trouble for diabetics, who can’t process it correctly - or at all.
Therefore, it’s very important that diabetics manage their stress to the best of their ability. Aside from normal stress of day to day life, there are other parts of diabetes that can bring on excess stress that you might not even notice.
It’s very important that you’re able to identify your issues, come up with solutions, and solve your issues. One of the major sources of stress for diabetics is the sheer amount of extra steps and thought that you have to put into everything you do.
Every meal you eat has to be planned, you have to keep track of your blood sugar levels, you have to administer insulin, you have to keep in touch with your doctors, and more.
All of this can really start to pile up on you, especially if you’re new to diabetes and have only recently been diagnosed. One of the best tips for dealing with it is to use your available resources.
You don’t have to deal with diabetes all by yourself - nobody wants to. Get in touch with one of many organizations around the world whose purpose is specifically to help diabetics.
They can help you design meal plans, recommend doctors, remind you to keep track of your glucose levels, and more. Don’t be afraid to use them. You should also try a few common stress relieving tips.
One is to stop stressing about things you can’t change, and this applies very well to diabetes. Many people get all stressed out and worried about being diagnosed with diabetes, but there’s nothing they can do to change the diagnosis – the control lies in developing a new lifestyle and embracing it.
