Stress Management for Type 2 Diabetes

If you have type 2 diabetes, the first step in stress management is to not let stress distract you from taking care of yourself. Continue checking your blood sugar levels, keep up with all of your testing and office visits, and don't react to stress by changing your diet or reverting to bad habits like smoking or drinking. "You need to identify the sources of your stress so you can start to deal with them in positive ways," says Garcia-Banigan. Here are some suggestions:

• Exercise more. Increasing the amount of exercise you get is a great way to burn off stress. Exercise can also help you reach or maintain a healthy weight and control your blood sugar. "If you can, you might want to bump up your exercise to about 60 minutes a day," Garcia-Banigan advises.
• Eat well. Maintaining good nutrition when you’re stressed helps control blood sugar levels. "You need to make sure to get the right nutrition so you have the energy to deal with stress," Garcia-Banigan says.
• Improve your coping style. Try replacing negative thoughts with positive thoughts, reducing the stress triggers you can, and being good to yourself. "Learn to manage your time well and make yourself a priority," Garcia-Banigan says.
• Learn stress reduction techniques. Breathing exercises, meditation, and progressive relaxation are all techniques that people have found to be helpful for stress management. Practice stress-relieving activities that work for you.
• Get support. Having a chronic condition like type 2 diabetes is stressful in itself. Talk to friends and loved ones about your feelings. Ask your diabetes caregivers about stress management assistance, and consider joining a diabetes support group where you can share feelings, ideas, and advice.

Type 2 diabetes requires constant attention, so don't let stress throw you off your game. One of the biggest keys for stress management with type 2 diabetes is education. The more you know about type 2 diabetes and how stress affects blood sugar levels, the better you’ll be at keeping both stress and diabetes at bay.