Diabetes and stress

Diabetes and stress

Everyone experiences a certain amount of stress in their lives. This is unavoidable. But undue stress can make it harder for you to control your diabetes.

Everyone experiences a certain amount of stress in their lives. This is unavoidable. But undue stress can make it harder for you to control your diabetes.

When is the body under stress?
Stress occurs when something happens that makes your body behave as if it were being attacked. The source of this stress can be physical, like when you fall or someone strikes you, or emotional, such as when you worry about a possible retrenchment or marriage problems. When your body gears up as if wanting to take action, the levels of many hormones increase. This bodily response is called the fight-or-flight response.

Sometimes your body can have this response for a long period of time, such as when you are having relationship problems. What happens here is that your blood sugar levels can be kept high for a long time by the hormones your body keeps on pumping out and by the lengthy stress you are experiencing.

Why is this a problem for diabetics?
This response is not very good for people who have diabetes, as insulin is not always available to let extra energy into the cells, so the glucose increases in your bloodstream.

Longterm stress can affect diabetics in several ways. Firstly, people who are under constant stress may not take such good care of themselves as far as medication, diet and exercise are concerned. They may also forget to test their blood glucose levels or take their medication at the right time. Stress eating and drinking could also play havoc with your blood glucose levels. This is applicable to both type 1 and type 2 diabetics.

Stress stops the body from releasing enough insulin in type 2 diabetics. As type 1 diabetics don’t produce insulin, stress reduction can only benefit them in that it enables them to take better care of themselves. For Type 2 diabetics, stress management can be very beneficial.

Stress management
Learning to choose your reactions to stress can be very helpful. Learn to put things in perspective – it is possible that you upset yourself unnecessarily. There are also things you can do to relieve stress, such as changing your working hours in order to avoid the traffic, not fighting with your spouse half an hour before bedtime and getting earplugs to dull the sound of the neighbours’ barking dogs.

Go for relaxation therapy or speak to a counsellor who may be able to help you with relaxation techniques. Get some exercise, whether it is in a gym, walking , swimming, team sports or cycling. Exercise always helps to relieve stress. Learn to do proper breathing exercises or go for yoga classes.

It takes time to learn to relax, and it is also something, which must be practiced.

Accept the fact that some sources of stress will never go away. Life is stressful, having diabetes is stressful, relationships and work can be stressful, having children is stressful. While you cannot eliminate these realities from your life, you can learn to manage the stress levels in such a way that they don’t have a negative impact on your life, your blood glucose levels and your ability to manage your diabetes

Link  http://www.health24.com/Medical/Diabetes/Living-with-diabetes/Diabetes-and-stress-20120721

How To Make Friends With Stress (Since You Can't Avoid It Forever)

How To Make Friends With Stress (Since You Can't Avoid It Forever)

I’ve read so many articles about “conquering stress” or “overcoming stress.” I, myself, have lectured countless times on how to manage or reduce stress most effectively.

But let’s be perfectly honest here — even those of us who’ve studied stress extensively still throw our knowledge out the window and turn into raving lunatics from time to time.

Whether we like it or not, stress is always going to be part of our lives.

So I’ve got a radical proposition here: instead of vilifying stress, let’s make friends with it.

Let’s acknowledge that in many cases stress is the only thing keeping us going. It’s the only thing tightening our muscles, sharpening our vision, and giving us the energy to survive an emergency.

So want to make stress work for you, not against you? Just follow these five tips:

1. Differentiate between productive and unproductive stress.

The smoke steaming from your ears during a business meeting is the same stress that kept humans alive from large predators once upon a time. But the fight-or-flight response isn’t much help when you’re stuck in a sea of traffic. So learn to distinguish between productive stress, in which you can use the body’s response to meet a deadline, versus unproductive stress, which may keep you tossing and turning the night before a meeting, but won't get you anywhere.

2. MOVE IT or lose it.

Ever notice what people do when they’re stressed? They pace back-and-forth. Your muscles are tightened, your blood sugar’s spiked, and the cortisol’s pumping. So take the instinct, get up, and move your body. Walking meetings, midday workouts, or the occasional spontaneous office dance party can do wonders to use up that nervous energy and bring you back to baseline.

3. Take the message and learn from it.

If it’s unproductive stress, then it means you’re putting yourself in unrealistic or negative situations. So take the message and learn from the experience. You may be taking on too much, not giving yourself enough time, or filling your head with limiting beliefs. Stress is a wonderful way to identify your issues and learn your boundaries.

4. Go to B.E.D.

For the acute stress attack, try my BED method:

Breathe deeply to activate the rest-and-digest parasympathetic nervous system to calm your body down

Eat sugar-regulating foods, such as nutritious leafy grains, fibrous whole grains, and clean protein sources, to normalize the stress jitters

Drink some water to help flush out that over-accumulation of stress hormones in your body

And, lastly, actually go to bed early after a stressful day to give your nervous system a rest-and-recharge break.

5. Reward yourself.

You did it! You survived another stressful event. Before violently throwing yourself into some more stress, take a moment to reward yourself on a job well done. Perhaps a massage to relax those muscles or a guiltless day on the couch watching a few bad flicks.

Whatever your luxury, choose a rewarding activity that both acknowledges the wonder of your stress response and gives you the relaxation you need before you get back up there and do it all over again.

Photo Credit: Shutterstock.com

Link  http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-12543/how-to-make-friends-with-stress-since-you-cant-avoid-it-forever.html

4 Tips To Change the Way You Deal with Stress

Dr. James C. Dobson once said “there are very few certainties that touch us all in this mortal experience, but one of the absolutes is that we will experience hardship and stress at some point.” Stress may be inevitable, but how we handle it is our choice.
Stress is different for all individuals, so there is no “cookie cutter” solution to manage it. You may have to experiment to find what works best for you. Finding healthy, positive ways to deal with stress will add to your overall well-being.
When dealing with stressful situations, consider the four points below. They may aid in decreasing the amount of stress and changing the way you view it.

1. Nothing and no one can “make” you feel anything. How you feel and the way you deal with a situation is a choice. I’m reminded of a counselor who would often state “no one can drive your car unless you give them the keys.” You cannot control others’ actions, but you can be responsible for your reactions.
   The serenity prayer states “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things that I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.” When applied, this can be a great stress reliever. Look at the situation and ask yourself “is this something I can change?” If so, start exploring positive ways to change the situation.
   If the situation cannot be changed, such as an illness or the economy, accept it for what it is. Accepting does not mean giving up. By accepting the situation and finding ways you can cope with what cannot be changed, stress can be drastically reduced.
2. Exchange attitude for gratitude. Our attitude has a profound effect on how we deal with situations. Negative attitudes affect our physical, spiritual, and mental wellbeing.When in a particularly stressful situation, try exchanging attitude for gratitude. When you are running late for a meeting because you are stuck in traffic, change your attitude. Instead of being frustrated about the traffic, find some gratitude. Look around and think of all the things you can be thankful for. Sometimes you can find gratitude in the smallest things. You can be thankful for life, health, strength, friends, family, nature, etc. Focusing on gratitude can definitely change your attitude.
3. Relax, relax, relax. Amidst the hustle and bustle of everyday life, sometimes we forget to take care of ourselves. If we do not help ourselves, how can we effectively help others? Relaxation rejuvenates the body, mind, and spirit and leaves us better equipped to handle stressful situations when they come.Try to find something that you enjoy and do it every day. If you can set aside time for relaxation, do it. Try to set aside a designated, uninterrupted time and stick to it. Many people state they don’t have time to relax, but relaxation does not have to be time-consuming. Relaxation can include periodic 5-10 minute breaks of breathing exercises or watching your favorite show for 30 minutes. Relaxation can also include connecting with positive people.
4. Look at the big picture. Evaluate your stressful situation from a “big picture” point of view. Ask yourself “how important is this?” and “will this matter in the long run?” If the answer is no, it’s likely not worth your time and energy.

Stress does not have to be a part of life. Success stress management is all about learning how and when to take control. It’s important to remember that you control how stress affects you. You can control the stress or let stress control you.

“Don’t underestimate the value of Doing Nothing, of just going along, listening to all the things you can’t hear, and not bothering.”
- Pooh’s Little Instruction Book, inspired by A.A. Milne

Link   http://psychcentral.com/lib/4-tips-to-change-the-way-you-deal-with-stress/0009953