Stress and Diabetes

A diagnosis of diabetes is a major inducer of stress. It requires adapting a new life style involving a complex system of dietary and medical processes, which produce both physical and psychological stress. Going forward controlling diabetes is difficult. You have to worry about so many different things: your blood sugar, giving yourself insulin, what, when, and how much you eat, exercise, taking care of your feet,

not to mention occasionally waking up in the Emergency Room after a low blood sugar incident. "Stress makes diabetes worse even if you are doing everything you can to manage it. That's why a person with diabetes must recognize and manage stress to control the disease", says Richard S. Surwit, PhD, vice chairman of the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences and chief of the division of medical psychology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

How Stress Effects Diabetes

Stress  activates the "fight or flight" response in the body which results in the release of adrenaline and cortisol into the body. These hormones increase blood sugar giving the body the energy to respond to the "fight or flight situation. "In diabetes, your blood sugar just stays up unless you increase your medication," Surwit says. He has studied the impact of stress on diabetes for 20 years and wrote a book called "The Mind-Body Diabetes Revolution."

Our Fast paced lives today include many long-term stresses with no clear short-term resolution. This could included include psychological stress like a job situation, a relationship, or it could be physical stress like diabetes, heart disease, high blood pressure. Consequently you may be running on the fight or flight reaction longer then nature intended. What's good for the body in a short-term crisis can be very harmful over long periods of time. Surwit's research shows people with diabetes who use stress management techniques as part of their treatment can significantly reduce their average blood sugar levels. The effect in many cases can be just as effective as some diabetes-control medications.

Recognizing when you are stressed and what's upsetting you is the first step to managing stress. We need a certain level of stress in our lives to be effective. It's like the string on a guitar. If the string is too loose the sound is not pure, if it's too tight it may break, strung just right we make beautiful music. Developing a Conscious Breathing practice can go a long way to helping us control our reaction to stress.

How Conscious Breathing helps us manage Stress?

Bringing the unconscious breathing process to the forefront of consciousness can give us a tool to help manage the stress of everyday life. There is a breathing rhythm associated with all the physical and psychological states of the body and mind. The breath is a bridge between the mind, the body, and the spirit. There is a breath for passion, a breath for anger, a breath for fear, a breath for joy, and a breath for sorrow.

Developing a conscious breathing practice to manage our reactions to external stresses can go a long way to improving our blood-sugar control thus affecting our health, our relationships, bringing peace of mind and - perhaps - a longer, healthier life. We may not be able to control external stressful events but we can learn to control our reaction to them.

What are the benefits of Conscious Breathing?

We can practice conscious breathing techniques anywhere. At our desks, on a train, or driving a car. We always breathe. Practicing conscious breathing can improve your physical response to stress by:

·        Better blood-sugar control

·        Slowing your heart rate

·        Lowering blood pressure

·        Increasing oxygen flow

·        Increasing blood flow to major muscles

·        reducing muscle tension

How do I learn Conscious Breathing?

Conscious breathing is a tool you can use to manage and control your reaction to stress in your daily life. Here's a simple breathing exercise:

·        Sit or stand comfortably

·        Notice your breathing rhythm

·        Began long deep breathing expanding from the bottom of the lungs to the top.

·        continue for a few minutes with long deep breaths.

Conscious breathing is a natural, drug free way to relieve stress and reduce its effects on our lives. It's also the gateway to meditation.

Additional resources, exercises and instruction can be found at www.ibreath-in.com.

Rich Davis has been a meditation teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area for the past 20 years. Teaching conscious breathing is the first step toward learning meditation. For more information and resources to help develop a conscious breathing practice go to www.ibreath-in.com