Diabetes and Mental Fitness

aving diabetes can cause stress. Think about the times you’ve experienced stress in relation to your diabetes. Between checking blood glucose levels, monitoring food intake, taking your medication, and making healthy choices, the sheer thought of all you have to do can become overwhelming. Stress affects the “fight or flight” hormones in your body. When you have diabetes, these stress hormones—adrenaline, cortisol and norepinephrine—can contribute to high blood glucose levels. Additionally, feeling this type of stress may make it harder for you to take care of yourself. Some stress is unavoidable, but the good news is that you can learn to handle stress so it doesn’t get the best of you (see sidebar, “The four As of stress