Diabetes Care: Stress Lowering, Mood Boosting Tips

Stress and depressed mood can make diabetes care more difficult, and managing any type of diabetes can be stressful and dampen our mood.

Though stress and low mood are year around problems, they can worsen during the busy holiday season. However, the steps we might take to lower stress, and boost our mood work well any time of the year; steps such as paying attention to our diet.

Mood Food

A recent paper published in Nutritional Neuroscience provided five dietary recommendations for the prevention of depression, based on laboratory findings, population studies, and clinical research:

1. Follow a traditional diet plan such as the Mediterranean, Norwegian, or Japanese diet.
2. Eat more vegetables, fruits, wholegrain cereals, legumes, seeds, and nuts.
3. Regularly consume foods rich in omega-3 fatty acids.
4. Replace unhealthy foods in the pantry and fridge with wholesome, nutritious edibles.
5. Limit intake of processed foods, fast foods, commercially baked goods, and sweets.

The best thing about these recommendations is the way they parallel most dietary guidelines for diabetes management. So, while eating right to support our mood we are simultaneously watching our glucose levels.

Quiet Waters

Besides eating a healthy diet, one of the most powerful ways to support physical, mental, and emotional health is slowing down the mind.

Since most chronic stress, and some mood disorders are fueled by ruminating over the past, and speculating about the future, disrupting our usual thought patterns can bring us much needed tension relief. To begin quieting the mind, all we have to do is:

Sit Down. It’s possible to meditate while walking, standing, or cleaning out the garage, but sometimes it’s a good idea just to sit. When we sit and our body is still, what swirls around in our mind becomes more obvious to us, and those swirling thoughts are usually the source of our anxieties.

Shut Up. It’s easy to stop talking when we are alone, but the steady commentary on life that runs through our mind is automatic and difficult to control. So, this “shut up” is an invitation to sit still and watch how our mind works, without judging it.




Pay Attention. While sitting, just notice. Notice what your thoughts are, without mentally commenting on them. Notice the sensation of air flowing in and out with each breath. Notice sounds. Notice emotions, or how the body feels. Notice when the mind wanders to the past or future, and bring it back to the present. Notice moments of silence between thoughts.

“Only in quiet waters things mirror themselves undistorted. Only in a quiet mind is adequate perception of the world.” ~ Hans Margolius

Beneficial Busy-ness

Though taking time to sit quietly is beneficial, life is a balancing act and sitting must be offset by doing. Our stress is less, and mood brighter when we:

• Exercise often: walking, swimming, yard work, vacuuming, tennis, gardening, hula hooping, skating, dancing, Tai chi—whatever gets the body moving.
• Pursue personal interests: pleasurable activities that absorb our attention naturally take the mind away from worries, relax the body, and stimulate our brain in a constructive way.
• Enjoy time with friends and family: though some of us love our alone time, isolation can be both a causal factor, and a symptom of depression.

Personal interests might include volunteering, which is also a great way to meet and connect with others.

Since activity tends to fuel more activity, we can - if necessary - start by taking small steps to create a more active lifestyle. Just ten minutes of a favorite pursuit, done every day, can create a new habit and add momentum to our life.

Sources: James Ishmael Ford / Lion’s Roar; NCBI
Photo credit: Vincent Carrella