April is National Stress Awareness Month, and when you live with diabetes, understanding how stress impacts your blood sugar is essential. Stress is not just an emotional reaction—it causes real, physical changes in your body. When you're stressed, your body releases cortisol and adrenaline, leading to a rise in blood sugar levels.

That’s why learning how to manage stress isn’t optional when you’re living with diabetes. It’s a critical part of maintaining steady glucose levels and protecting your long-term health.

How Stress Affects Blood Sugar Levels

When you’re under stress, your body enters "fight or flight" mode. This triggers your liver to release stored glucose to give you quick energy. However, when you are living with diabetes, your body struggles to use that glucose efficiently, leading to elevated blood sugar levels.

Over time, unmanaged stress can:

• Increase insulin resistance
• Cause blood sugar spikes and crashes
• Disrupt sleep patterns
• Lead to emotional eating and poor food choices

The Mind-Body Connection in Diabetes Management

The good news is that you have more control over stress and blood sugar than you may realize. Research shows that mindset strategies and stress management techniques can improve blood sugar control and overall well-being.

One of the most effective tools is something simple yet powerful: Thought Labeling.

Thought Labeling: A Mindset Strategy to Lower Stress & Blood Sugar

Thought Labeling is a mindfulness technique that helps you acknowledge stressful thoughts without letting them take over. It reduces anxiety, calms your nervous system, and helps keep blood sugar levels steady.

How to Use Thought Labeling to Reduce Stress

Here are the steps to practice Thought Labeling anytime you feel stressed:

1. Notice the Thought

When you feel stress creeping in, pause and identify what’s happening in your mind. Ask yourself:

What thought is causing this stress?  Is it a real threat or an emotional reaction?

2. Label the Thought

Shift your language from "I am overwhelmed" to "I am having the thought that I am overwhelmed."

This small change creates distance between you and the stress, allowing you to see it for what it is: a passing thought, not a fact.

3. Reset Your Nervous System

Once you label the thought, take one physical action to help your body release tension:

• Stretch your arms overhead
• Place your hand over your heart and breathe deeply
• Shake out your arms and legs for 30 seconds

This simple sequence helps prevent stress from triggering a blood sugar spike.

Real Client Results: How Mindset Shift Helped Balance Stress & Blood Sugar

"Before I started working on my mindset, I didn’t realize how much my stress was affecting my diabetes. When my thoughts spiraled, my blood sugar numbers would follow. After learning the Thought Labeling technique, I felt like I had a tool to pause the chaos. Not only did I feel calmer, but my glucose readings became more stable. I finally felt back in control."
— Emma K., VIP Coaching Client

Take the Next Step to Reduce Stress & Balance Blood Sugar

Stress management is essential for anyone living with diabetes. When you’re managing a busy life, it can be hard to know where to start.

That’s why I offer a complimentary Diabetes Wellness Connection Call designed specifically for people living with diabetes who lead busy lives. In this private session, you’ll:

• Communicate your specific stress and blood sugar challenges
• Clarify what you really want for your health and energy
• Receive clear, next-step recommendations tailored to your lifestyle

📅 Schedule your free Diabetes Wellness Connection Call here

Take back control of your mindset, your stress, and your blood sugar today.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Dr. Cheryl
Dr. Ac., C.H., RDH
Dr. Holistic Studies, Dr. Acupuncture
Diabetes Wellness Strategist & Coach
Creator & CEO of Holistic Diabetes Solutions
8 X International Best-Selling Author

As a woman living with diabetes for over 30 years, Dr. Cheryl understands the journey firsthand. When she was diagnosed, she received the same outdated advice her grandmother was given for over four decades, who relied primarily on medication, suffered from deteriorating health and eventually lost her life to diabetes. Fueled by this experience, Dr. Cheryl was compelled to seek a better way. Through countless research studies and trials, she developed the winning holistic approach: the Diabetes Success System which merges traditional wisdom with today’s best holistic self-care practices.  It has revolutionized diabetes management by providing a trusted way to maintain consistent and predictable healthy blood sugar levels.

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PROFESSIONAL DISCLAIMER

The material and content contained in this platform is for overall general diabetes health and education information only. It is not intended to constitute medical advice or to be a substitution for professional medical recommendations, diagnosis or treatment. All specific medical questions or changes you make to your medication and/or lifestyle should be discussed and addressed with your primary healthcare provider. Having the right mindset, doing the right movements at the right times of day, and eating foods that help keep blood sugar, insulin, and inflammation manageable can dramatically reduce your risk of the all-too-common complications of Diabetes, increase your energy levels and have you feeling your best every day.