Stress and Diabetes (How to Manage Stress)
Stress will definitely affect blood sugar levels.
I've read stories of people who were diagnosed with type 1 diabetes after a very stressful event or life situation.
This could have been an illness that put too much stress on your health or a traumatic event.
I know this because I have been a type 1 diabetic for the past ten years; I've done a lot of experiments and I can tell you that being constantly stressed will have a big impact on your blood sugar levels.
F*c* stress; honestly.
If you are reading this you know that besides taking care of the hundreds of things going on in your life; you need to add the “stress” of doing insulin calculations, checking your blood sugar levels, choosing what foods to eat, changing your pump, or lancet or CGM or whatever you use.
And on top of that you probably have to deal with the non diabetic telling you what you can or cannot eat ? Really ? lol. Give me a break…
Ive been there, trust me.
If you are reading this you probably have been dealing with the constant burden and stress that living with diabetes is.
I feel you and I get you.
Oh and I havent talked about the low or the high blood sugars, but honestly the lows suck even more man.
That feeling when you start shutting down like a machine and absolutely nothing makes sense. That moment when you start panicking and feeling useless and start questioning whats the point of this? why me?
Been there ? oh yeah… Gotta deal with it, any sweets around? quick! damn it…
So the point is that us diabetics need to live our lives just like anybody else with full responsibilities; but we need to pay more attention to the stress that comes with being humans :)
Ok, enough with the intro and lets get right to business.
Today I will talk about some techniques or ways you can use to manage the stress that will inevitably show up in your daily life (on top of diabetes) But I know you got this :)
1 AWARENESS
2 BREATHING EXERCISES/MEDITATION
3 PRACTICE YOUR HOBBY
Ready ? Here we go.
Before; let me remind you this:
If you are a type 1 diabetic, I will give you all the information, tips and tools you need to gain complete confidence in your own diabetes management so you can live an active, healthy and happy life.
Simple. Straight forward. Minimalistic. No extra baggage. No BS.
I've decided this to be my purpose and if I’m going to have any life in me is because I'm willing to die chasing it.
It's not about succeeding or not. I'm successful already. Right now.
I will die on this hill…
HOW TO MANAGE STRESS
1) AWARENESS:
Right now you are reading this letter. Be here 100% .
Are you aware of this exact moment ? Are you here ?
Where are you now ? Are you home ? Wherever you are, pay attention. Be here fully.
What's surrounding you ? People? Nature ? Trees? Birds ?
Do you smell anything ? What ? Smell it. Use your senses.
How do you feel inside? Are you cold ? Hot ? How are you feeling ?
Are you aware of any feelings inside of you ?
Awareness means to be fully present with your emotions and to feel them.
Simple ? Try it…
Diabetes management requires you to be aware of what your body is feeling at all times.
Know what you are feeling at all times.
Be aware of emotions during the day.
Be aware. Look at what goes on inside of you.
2) BREATHING EXERCISES/MEDITATION:
Everyday for the past 3 - 4 years I've been waking up and doing breathing exercises or meditation for 10 - 15 minutes in the morning.
-I put my phone timer on for 10 - 15 minutes
-I close my eyes
-I take some deep breaths in and out through the nose
-Inhale through the nose, exhale through the nose (Look up box breathing on Youtube if you want)
-I see my thoughts as if I’m sitting on a beach and each thought is a ship passing across the ocean from side to side
-Thought comes up. See it. Watch it pass by. Repeat
Do this for 10 - 15 minutes.
Thats it, you are meditating.
A lot of people have the idea that mediation is leaving your mind blank for 2 hours.
Who told you that ?
Oh but I'm not good at meditating ?
Well; start.
I promise you this will change your life.
Try this for 30 days and thank me later.
I can tell you meditation will help you to be more aware throughout the day.
Just do it.
3) PRACTICE YOUR HOBBY:
Yeah, Play the piano ? Guitar?
Run? Lift weights ? Paint ?
Hike?
Read a book. Whatever.
Only you know what to do to remove some stress from your life.
As much as I'd like to say that diabetes is not 100 % on my mind; it is.
But there are some activities we can do for some periods of time to forget that we don't have to think about this 24/ 7.
Life is beautiful and its such a great opportunity. Live it!
Do something that will help you ease the stress on you and focus your mind on something else for a period of time.
When you practice these 3 things I talked about; your stress can be reduced.
Stress is and will be part of life and is inevitable; so keep these things in mind.
So to close this letter:
-PRACTICE AWARENESS (What Am I feeling at all times ?)
Tip: Set 4 different alarms at different times during the day and in each moment ask yourself: what am I feeling ? What am I doing ? Try it.
-PRACTICE BREATHING EXERCISES/MEDITATION (10 - 15 Minutes in the morning, this is life changing honestly)
-PRACTICE YOUR HOBBY (whatever that is, only you know, do it)
I’ve been a type 1 diabetic for the past 10 years of my life and I wrote THE MANUAL where I explain all the tips and tools I use in order to manage stress and keep blood sugars levels in range.
Whenever you are ready heres the link: The Manual
Take care,
DIE-A-BEAST
