Stress Reduction
(Dedda71, Pagen meditation, Wikimedia Commons. CC: BY 3.0.)
Stress reduction is an important part of treating diabetes. Chronic stress leads to elevated cortisol levels which, in turn, elevates serum glucose.
Stress reduction can be accomplished in many ways. The selection of approaches is highly variable. Some patients profit the most from structured group activities such as Yoga or Tai Chi while others derive the greatest benefit from individually-oriented activities such as meditation.
There are many local resources that I use to help patients in this area. For example:
Hypertension web unit – See information regarding types of meditative practices.
University of Michigan's Preventive Cardiology – See stress reduction program material.
Benson-Henry Mind-Body Institute – This web site is a good source of information for patients.
Jon Kabat-Zinn – See publications from this author who has written widely on the subject of stress reduction has several books that patients have found helpful, in addition to mindfulness meditation tapes that are available.