The Gender Gap in Handling Stress and Diabetes

Any diagnosis of a chronic disease can be stressful, and this is no less true for individuals who find out they have type 2 diabetes. After all, a total lifestyle change that involves diet, exercise, and glucose tests is vital to the management of this condition. So the adjustment, at least in the short term, can be stressful and somewhat overwhelming.

According to a study that was published in Web MD, women tend to suffer from the stress that is brought on by a diagnosis of diabetes more so than men do. The study involved 831 people in all (458 women and 373 men), and the results showed that women have more trouble coping than men do. One primary reason can relate to their roles as care takers of the family, which consequently can lead to paying more attention to spouse and children and their well-being than their own. However, there are other related factors, and by looking closely at them, one can figure out how to best handle the stress while adapting to the new routine and diet.

The differences in the perception of living with diabetes

First of all, when pondering ways of coping with diabetes, one has to consider the fact that men and women deal with stress differently. For example, in this study, two thirds of the male subjects stated that they felt like they were controlling their glucose levels and adjusting to their daily regimen of diet, exercise, and other healthy practices; whereas only half of their female counterparts felt in control of their new routine. The other half of the female participants expressed a sense of being “overwhelmed” by all of the changes. Less than one third of the men voiced similar feelings.

These findings might not come to a surprise since men and women handle stress in diverse manners according to the American Psychological Association. As an illustration, only 4% of the women who were polled reported that a physically active lifestyle, that includes regular exercise, is key to managing stress. On the contrary, 14% of the men, who responded to this question, look to sports and rigorous workouts as a major part of managing stress. This can be a cause for concern because exercise is vital to managing diabetes and keeping the heart healthy while preventing hypertension.

The differences in stress levels

The APA has also published other results that show the differences in how the two genders deal with stress. These include the following:

• In general, more women than men state that stress is big part of everyday life.
• Just a little over half of the women polled say that they are managing this stress with little difficulty as compared to 63% of the men who responded to this inquiry.

Again, this information is a bit worrisome because stress has a tendency to affect a person’s eating habits. Usually, one’s diet is negatively impacted by either a loss of appetite or by the habit of overeating to alleviate worry. Both habits can cause further complications to the management of glucose levels. Basically, once the triggers for stress are dealt with in a constructive manner, then getting the condition under control becomes less daunting.