We have just completed Diabetes Awareness Month but the challenges of managing stress and diabetes continue for parents and their children. In the United States, 29.1 million people are living with diagnosed or undiagnosed diabetes, and about 208,000 people younger than 20 years are living with diagnosed diabetes according to the New England Journal of Medicine. We know that childhood/youth diabetes is on the rise. What is less well know is that there are research finding supporting the conclusion that poor management of life’s stressors exacerbates the diabetic condition. The co-occurrence of depression and diabetes is statistically significant across multiple studies (see post for 11/27/19 last week). We all need to be more aware of the risks for diabetes and the need to stay aware of healthy living to either avoid developing the disorder or manage it better if you already are so diagnosed. If you want to take a short self-assessment as to your risks, you can go to diabetes.org/alertday. In our book on stress management (I Can't Take It Anymore: How to Manage Stress so It Doesn't Manage You; Paul G. Longobardi, Ph.D., and Janice B. Longobardi, R.N., B.S.N., P.H.N.), available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1542458056, we discussed stress management tips/strategies to help better manage your diabetic condition. For more information about the book, authors, and stress, please visit our website at www.manageyourhealthandstress.com. These tips/strategies include the following:
1. Change stress producing situations, when possible. For example, it is well known that people reduce stress to the extent that they manage their time well and don’t let themselves overcommit and become overwhelmed by events. If you improve your organization skills and learn problem-solving skills, you reduce your likelihood of allowing yourself to become excessively stressed and then worsening your diabetic condition.
2. Initiate relaxation procedures. You can try yoga, meditation, mindfulness, deep breathing, or progressive muscle relaxation (PMR). Our favorite is PMR, in which you practice tensing and relaxing major muscle groups in sequence while combining pleasant visual imagery and proper breathing. In fact, a study published in the journal Diabetes Care showed that just five weekly sessions of a relaxation therapy can reduce blood sugar levels significantly.
3. Learn about cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and its benefits. In addition to learning to relax, CBT assists you in evaluating your problematic, catastrophizing, and often overgeneralized thoughts leading you to feel tense, frustrated, and upset. You can learn to react differently to the challenging events in your life through re-evaluating your thoughts and thus your emotions. As we always say, "Change your thoughts and change your results".
4. Use your social support network. Talk to a trusted friend or confidante about your concerns. Talking about problems can help lessen the stress associated with them. Don't have a social support network? Maybe this is a good time to develop one. Also, you can speak with your spiritual leader or other members at your place of worship. If nothing is working, consider talking with a mental health professional.
5. Maintain healthy eating, sleep, and exercise routines. Exercise can help lower blood sugar, so a stressful phase is not the time to stop your program. Exercises in groups, e.g. aerobics, water aerobics, dance or yoga classes could be a lot of fun and help maintain accountability and comraderie.
6. Develop relaxing routines, such as starting a hobby, taking walks, or joining a class you like. You can attend pleasant activities such as the theater and movies. These activities will contribute to a more pleasant outlook on life as well.
7. If the above still is not working, know that there are antianxiety medications available which may help. You may need the medication for the short term only as some of the medications have addictive potential. See your medical care provider.
It is very clear that diabetes is a condition possibly initiated by but at least worsened by the presence of stress. The areas of glycemic control and self-care management both are negatively impacted by stressors. It is important that you and your children take control of your health and one way to do this is by managing effectively the stresses in your life.
Good luck on your journey.
Dr. Paul Longobardi
For additional information on these and other topics, please see my website at www.successandmindset.com