You can't avoid stress. It's a part of life. Sometimes stress can be good, such as feelings of excitement when moving to a new house or a better job. But often stress can be uncomfortable and hard to deal with.
Stress can build and build until your whole body feels tense and anxious. Or stress can cause stomach upset, headaches, diarrhoea, rashes, coughing, depression, or feelings of tiredness. Whether good or bad, stress and emotions can affect your diabetes.
What Does Stress Have To Do With Diabetes?
Everyday living with diabetes can be stressful. Doing blood-sugar testing, taking your medication, and following your meal plan takes extra work and can cause stress.
Stress can make your blood-sugar level rise. If you don't have enough insulin to handle the stress, the sugar in your blood will build up. This build-up can affect your diabetes control.
How Can Illness Cause Stress?
When you are sick, your body is under stress. Under stress, your blood sugar may rise. So, sickness can cause your diabetes to go out of control.
The best way to prevent a minor illness from becoming a major problem is to have a plan for sick days. Work out a sick-day plan with your health-care practitioner BEFORE you become sick.
Your sick-day plan should have guidelines for when to call the health-care practitioner and instructions for checking blood-sugar and urine-ketone levels. If should also tell you how to change your medication schedule and dosage (for insulin or diabetes pills).
How Can You Control or Remove Stress?
First, ask yourself: What is the cause of my stress? If some of your stress is related to your job, maybe better planning or talking with a co-worker or boss will help stop some of the stress.
If stress is related to your family or personal concerns, your health-care practitioner may be able to help. He or she may be able to refer you to a social worker or a psychologist who helps people manage stress.
If you feel stress from living with diabetes, you can get help. Contact your local Persatuan Diabetes Malaysia affiliate. Ask about joining a support group of other people with diabetes. At a support group, people share their concerns about living with diabetes.
Also, talk to your health-care practitioner. He or she can recommend a counsellor, psychologist, or psychiatrist.
Learning to cope with stress is important. When you feel a lot of stress, try to calm down and relax. If you're at home, you might want to lie on your couch, close your eyes, and listen to music.
Regular exercise may also help you deal better with stress. Exercise can lower blood sugar, ease tension, and make you feel good. Even a good brisk walk can help. Set aside 30 minutes every day to exercise. Ask your health-care practitioner about the best exercise choices for you.
Remember: Once you learn how to control your stress, you will feel better. And your diabetes will be in better control.
Stress can build and build until your whole body feels tense and anxious. Or stress can cause stomach upset, headaches, diarrhoea, rashes, coughing, depression, or feelings of tiredness. Whether good or bad, stress and emotions can affect your diabetes.
What Does Stress Have To Do With Diabetes?
Everyday living with diabetes can be stressful. Doing blood-sugar testing, taking your medication, and following your meal plan takes extra work and can cause stress.
Stress can make your blood-sugar level rise. If you don't have enough insulin to handle the stress, the sugar in your blood will build up. This build-up can affect your diabetes control.
How Can Illness Cause Stress?
When you are sick, your body is under stress. Under stress, your blood sugar may rise. So, sickness can cause your diabetes to go out of control.
The best way to prevent a minor illness from becoming a major problem is to have a plan for sick days. Work out a sick-day plan with your health-care practitioner BEFORE you become sick.
Your sick-day plan should have guidelines for when to call the health-care practitioner and instructions for checking blood-sugar and urine-ketone levels. If should also tell you how to change your medication schedule and dosage (for insulin or diabetes pills).
How Can You Control or Remove Stress?
First, ask yourself: What is the cause of my stress? If some of your stress is related to your job, maybe better planning or talking with a co-worker or boss will help stop some of the stress.
If stress is related to your family or personal concerns, your health-care practitioner may be able to help. He or she may be able to refer you to a social worker or a psychologist who helps people manage stress.
If you feel stress from living with diabetes, you can get help. Contact your local Persatuan Diabetes Malaysia affiliate. Ask about joining a support group of other people with diabetes. At a support group, people share their concerns about living with diabetes.
Also, talk to your health-care practitioner. He or she can recommend a counsellor, psychologist, or psychiatrist.
Learning to cope with stress is important. When you feel a lot of stress, try to calm down and relax. If you're at home, you might want to lie on your couch, close your eyes, and listen to music.
Regular exercise may also help you deal better with stress. Exercise can lower blood sugar, ease tension, and make you feel good. Even a good brisk walk can help. Set aside 30 minutes every day to exercise. Ask your health-care practitioner about the best exercise choices for you.
Remember: Once you learn how to control your stress, you will feel better. And your diabetes will be in better control.
