to deal with stress. Stress is a part of life and we all have things happen to us now and then that we define as stressful. Each person defines what is stressful to or her. Some stress in our lives is good. It makes our lives more interesting and gives purpose and meaning. Things that we believe are harmful or causing a great deal of change may be too stressful. Too much stress at one time can also cause an overload. The body responds to stress by making certain hormones. These can cause the heart to beat faster, the blood pressure to go up, and faster breathing. If this energy is not used to either fight or run away you may feel tense, tired, or get a headache. The hormones your body makes when it feels stress can cause the blood sugar to go up. However, some people find that their blood sugar level goes down during stressful times. Thus stress can make your diabetes harder to control. It can lead to blood sugars that are too high, too low, or changing often. Some people find that they do no handle stress as well when they have diabetes. They spend so much energy taking care of their diabetes that they do not feel like they cope with other problems as well as they used to do. Before you can cope with stress, you first need to be aware of when you feel under stress. There are some signs that your body needs a rest. These are headaches, tight muscles in your neck or jaw, a change in eating or sleeping patterns, feeling angry or tense most of the time, loss of interest in sex, and not feeling sure of yourself. Some people find it helps to keep track of how they feel under stress, what causes stress, and how they handle it. This information can be added to your blood sugar record or food diary. Putting these facts together can give you picture of how your diabetes control and eating habits are affected by stress. Everyone handles stress in their own way. Some ways of coping give you more problems even though they ma...
