The Connection Between Stress and Diabetes: How Hypnotherapy Can Help

We all know that stress can have an adverse impact on our health. But let's take a deeper dive into one of the diseases that can be caused and exacerbated by stress - diabetes.

Diabetes UK estimates that more than 5.8 million people in the UK are living with diabetes, which is an all-time high. Maybe this is not surprising, considering the increasing levels of stress we are all experiencing.

What is stress?

Stress is how we react when we feel under pressure or threatened. It usually happens when we are in a situation that we don't feel we can manage or control.

Stress is not an illness itself. But it can make you unwell if it is severe or if it lasts for a long time.

A small amount of stress can be useful. It can motivate you to take action and get tasks completed. It can also make you feel alive and excited. But too much stress can cause negative effects such as a change in your mood, your body and relationship issues.

Stress is the feeling of being under too much mental or emotional pressure. It is your body’s reaction to help you deal with pressure or threats. This could be an actual physical danger, or something less tangible, like looming deadlines, an over-full inbox, overwhelming family responsibilities, or debt.

This reaction, sometimes called the ‘fight or flight’ response, is regulated by your central nervous system. When your brain senses a threat, a cocktail of hormones such as adrenaline, noradrenaline and cortisol are released. This causes your heartbeat to speed up, and sends blood to your muscles, heart and other important organs. You might notice physical feelings such as being hot and sweaty, trembly, or your heart pounding. You may feel tense or notice your stomach is affected. Normal bodily functions are temporarily paused, and your metabolism is slowed down.

Your stress hormone levels usually return to normal once the threat has passed. But in cases of chronic stress, where the threat does not go away, the response can continue, and this is when it can have an adverse effect on your body.

Chronic stress is a factor in behaviours such as overeating or not eating enough, sleep disorders, alcohol or drug abuse, and social withdrawal.

What is the connection between stress and diabetes?

Under stress, your liver produces extra blood sugar (glucose) to give you a boost of energy. If you’re under chronic stress, your body may not be able to keep up with this extra glucose surge. It can also cause a resistance to insulin.

Chronic stress may therefore increase your risk of developing Type 2 Diabetes, make it more difficult to manage your diabetes, or worsen the condition.

Additionally, diabetes itself can cause abnormalities in the regulation of these stress hormones.

Being under chronic stress can cause us to gain weight, and this is a known risk factor for developing diabetes.

How does stress lead to weight gain?

Chronic stress can contribute to weight gain in a number of ways.

Cortisol stimulates your fat and carbohydrate metabolism, creating a surge of energy in your body. While this process is essential for survival situations, it also increases your appetite. Once the threat has subsided, your adrenaline high wears off and your blood sugar spike drops. This is when cortisol kicks into high gear to replenish your energy supply quickly.

This causes cravings for sweet, fatty and salty foods, and particularly sugar. Because sugar supplies your body with the quick energy it thinks it needs, it's often the first thing you reach for when you're stressed.

The downside to consuming so much sugar is that your body tends to store sugar, especially after stressful situations. This energy is stored mainly in the form of abdominal fat, which can be particularly hard to shed.

This results in a vicious cycle: get stressed, release cortisol, gain weight, crave more sugar, eat more sugar, gain more weight.

High levels of cortisol also interfere with the way the body makes other hormones, including corticotropin-releasing hormone (CRH). This hormone helps control appetite, so if you have lower levels, you may feel the need to eat more than usual.

Chronic stress may cause persistently high insulin levels. This can lead to insulin resistance, in which the body’s cells no longer respond correctly to insulin. One effect of this is increased abdominal fat and overall weight gain.

An excess of cortisol also can lead your body to produce less testosterone. This may cause a decrease in muscle mass, as well as slow down how many calories your body burns.

Stress can also interfere with cognitive processes. It is harder to focus or to think clearly. This can affect our ability to self-regulate.

Being under constant stress is very tiring. This depletion in energy levels can mean we are less likely to engage in physical activity, or find it more difficult to motivate ourselves to exercise.

Many people who are under stress find they have disrupted sleep. This in itself can contribute to weight gain.

How can hypnotherapy help?

We’ve talked about how stress can trigger the flight -fight response, also known as the sympathetic nervous system. The antidote to this is to activate the parasympathetic nervous system, the rest and digest state. When your body and mind are completely relaxed, it puts the body back into normal function and allows your organs and immune system to work effectively. The deep state of relaxation induced by hypnosis, is extremely beneficial to the body. Learning to relax regularly helps you to deal with stress.

Hypnotherapy can have an even more profound effect. While you are in a deeply relaxed state, your subconscious is more open to positive suggestions. Hypnotherapy can support you to remain calm in stressful situations, help you to think more clearly and creatively and to feel in control and on top of things. This means that stressful situations will have less of an adverse impact on you, and you will be able to recover much more quickly from stressful situations. 

Hypnotherapy can also be used to help increase your confidence and self-esteem, making you feel more comfortable setting boundaries and saying no to people. These are essential tools for managing stress.

Hypnotherapy has been shown to help people sleep better. When you have had a good night’s sleep, you are less susceptible to becoming stressed by challenging situations. And regular sleep patterns are helpful in regulating weight.

Hypnotherapy can be specifically used to lose weight, by helping to reduce cravings for fatty sugary food, increasing desire for healthy food and increasing your motivation to exercise.

MindMatters has a range of self-hypnosis sessions you can access to support you to manage your stress levels, sleep better or motivate you to exercise and eat a healthy diet. Have a look at our shop page to find out more.

Tell me about your experience of stress and diabetes. Has stress exacerbated your diabetes? What have you found helpful? Let me know in the comments.