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Stress

T

TROUBR

Well-Known Member
Given that stress can have an effect on ones BG can anyone recommend any good stress busters. I have to say my emotions are all over the place since being diagnosed so would appreciate any advice.

Thanks heaps

Louise
 
What do you like doing? When I was so stressed out that I had to be signed off work I took to making bracelets.It's quite fiddly so the concentration took my mind off being stressed and did help.(except of course when I dropped a whole rope of beads under the kitchen table and had to find and pick them all up again!) :lol: Reading ,watching TV, going out for a walk,talking to other people all help.Laughing :lol: :lol: is a great stress reliever.I think also the most important thing is to gain the knowledge about diabetes so that you know what you are up against.This is a controllable disease ,once controlled you can get on with your life,there are many ,many of us out here doing just that.Come and join us!
 
Hi Louise,
Here is a visualisation technique that is sometimes used in stress management treatment.

Firstly get yourself somewhere nice and comfortable and where you won't be disturbed for a while. Now close your eyes and think of a time in your past when you felt very happy and relaxed - it could be a happy family occasion, a relaxing holiday, or just a time when you received some really good news.

Now concentrate your thoughts on that time, remember how you felt at that time, remember how good it felt. If possible try to remember any sounds that accompanied that moment. As you do this try to breathe slowly and steadily. Now really concentrate on the thought and sounds to fix it in your mind - try to do this for a few minutes, don't rush it but just savour that good/happy/relaxed memory and let it flow right through your body like a rippling stream. Now whenever you are ready open your eyes again.

After a few minutes see if you can shut your eyes and quickly recall those happy thoughts and that relaxed state. If you can then this is something that you should be able to repeat whenever you start to feel stressed or uptight - just take yourself off to somewhere where you can be alone for a few minutes (could be the loo!) and just repeat that exercise. Treat those thoughts like your own personal medicine - only to be taken when needed.

PS I am not a stress management consultant - but I am married to one!!
 
Thanks heaps for your replys. It is generally not so bad at home as I do as Sue says general hobby type stuff, reading, knitting walks and playing with my son etc. I was look more for a work stiuation type thing so your exercise shall be useful Dennis. I shall print it up and keep it to hand!

Does anyone do Yoga/ have massages or any of the chinese medicine type things (are they even allowed?)
 
Hi Louise.
What do you mean by 'allowed'?
It's up to you to do the allowing. HCPs can only share their knowledge with you and offer advice. It's up to you to make decisions that are right for you.

I've never done yoga but I bet it's a fantastic way to focus and unwind. Good for anyone, diabetic or not.

Wiflib
 
By allowed I meant that sometimes the Chinese medicine or aromatherapy type treatments can do more harm than good for certain people. For example my sister is epileptic and is not supposed to use anything with lavender or bergamot (this applies to all epileptics) it has never given her a problem but it is something she avoids. So what I meant is, are there similar things that could be detrimental to diabetics - after all if they are absorbed then they could have an effect on the BG I would have thought.
 
It's true that visualising can actively help to relieve stress.

It isn't just imagery that can help - scents and sounds can aso trigger emotive reponses which, directly affect blood pressure, thus calming and relaxing the body.
Music therapy can help alleviate stress.
If you have a favourite piece of music DO NOT use it for this type of exercise.
The emotions that are triggered are specific and whilst they engender a "feel good" factor the feelings they engender may not be suitable for your needs.

Try and explore different sounds as well as music. ..... a rain stick can sound like the sea.

Autogentic behavioural therapy is also very beneficial: This type of self-help works where the body responds to "affective" learning. You relax through deep breathing, and then construct and repeat a phrase that you can use when stressed: " e.g. " Calm is energy - With every breath I am calm. I will use this calmness to become postive"
Dee ( Lectuere in Kinesics and Guided Imagery Techniques)
 
I use that all the time,visualisation is good for stress relief and coupled with controlled breathing can be very good for pain control as well given a bit of practice.
 
Hi TROUBR. So you were diagnosed in April. Judging by your first post it seems your emotions are all over the place since you were diagnosed because of your diagnosis but I could have misread that. :? If that is the case though, then as much as you may not want to hear this - getting stressed isn't going to help much. I have been diabetic for around 12 years and I admit I don't always get it right and it can get pretty stressful, but I try to rationalise the situation in my mind. In general though for stress and overall fitness, I find for me, walking is fantastic. It gets my pulse going and any depression or stress I felt because of my diabetes or job or whatever disappears. Also because my fitness isn't exactly great at the moment, it is a good way to boost this without having hypos. Occasionally I get the odd hypo but I usually sip some Lucozade whilst walking which keeps my energy levels up and my sugars stable. I have to say I don't know much about alternative therapies such as Chinese medicine etc. but I have had aromatherapy massage and it didn't have any adverse effects on my sugars - infact they didn't change much at all. The best thing if you are worried is to discuss the situation with your GP who will give you the best advice on these sorts of therapies. The internet could help too, but the information isn't always reliable. Good luck! :)
 
I too get quite a bit stressful in general more so than specifically diabetes. I always go to this site; you might find something on here to help you relax. This guy **** Sutphen has the most haunting voice to make you relax as the music helps also. It's just brilliant I come down feeling on top of the world.
http://www.prohypnosis.com/

Cheers,
John
PS: I have nothing to do with this site; I'm just a happy person from finding it. :D
 
Feeling Stressed Out?

Picture yourself near a stream

Birds are softly chirping in the cool crisp mountain air

Nothing can bother you here, nobody knows this secret place.

You are in total seclusion from that place called "The World"

The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity

The water is clear

You can easily make out the face of the person whose head your holding under the water

Look, its the person who caused you all this stress in the first place

What a pleasant surprise. You let them up...just for a quick breath..then ploop back under they go

You allow yourself as many deep breaths as you want

there now....feeling better?
 
I am one of these hyper people who find it very difficult to relax just by doing nothing.

Physical exercise or brisk walking or even housework is better for me.

Find out what works for you.

An important thought that will help is that it really is possible to control your diabetes, have normal blood sugars and avoid complications. And you don't need to learn it all or do it all at once.
 
I'm even weirder, I actually thrive on some forms of "stress".

"Inescapable stress" is what does for me.

If I can DO something about it it's not actually stressful.
 
Trink,I must be the same.I seem to live on stress,modding here for one!! :lol: I seem to think more clearly under some stress but at other times I am just totally fazed out by it.If I go into crisis mode at work then the brain is firing on all cylinders,after ,however,I am totally washed out.
 
sugarless sue said:
Trink,I must be the same.I seem to live on stress,modding here for one!! :lol: I seem to think more clearly under some stress but at other times I am just totally fazed out by it.If I go into crisis mode at work then the brain is firing on all cylinders,after ,however,I am totally washed out.
Click to expand...

Yeah that's about it. I used to *love* solving problems. What I didn't love was sitting in meetings watching blame being flung and nothing getting fixed.
 
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