The Link Between Hypoglycemia and Anxiety

Hypoglycemia is the medical term used to refer to low blood sugar levels in the blood. It is a common condition in people with diabetes. People with diabetes usually tend to worry about their blood sugar levels falling, but some people end up developing severe anxiety issues about having these hypoglycemic episodes. In fact, the fear of having hypoglycemia can become so intense that it often starts to interfere with their day to day life and affects their relationships, work or school, and even their family life. The fear can also begin to interfere with their ability to take care of themselves and manage their diabetes. This excessive worry about hypoglycemia is a type of anxiety disorder, but there are many ways to handle such anxiety that stems from hypoglycemia concerns. Here is everything you need to know about hypoglycemia and anxiety – the connection, symptoms, and more.

When you have diabetes, you are likely to be taking some form of diabetes medications, including insulin or medicines, to increase the insulin levels in the body.^(1,2,3)

When you are on such medications, it is likely that your blood sugar levels will go down. In any case, decreasing the blood sugar levels after having a meal is important in treating diabetes. However, sometimes, blood sugar levels can fall too low. Low blood glucose or blood sugar levels are medically referred to as hypoglycemia.^(4,5) Blood sugar levels are considered to be low when it falls below 70 mg/dL. If you have diabetes, your doctor is likely to recommend that you check your blood sugar levels regularly throughout the day, especially if you skip a meal or exercise.

Hypoglycemia needs immediate treatment to prevent any severe complications from developing. Some of the common symptoms of hypoglycemia include:

• Pale skin
• Sweating
• Fast heart rate
• Headache
• Dizziness
• Blurry vision

If left untreated, hypoglycemia may cause more serious symptoms, such as:

• Loss of consciousness
• Trouble thinking or concentrating
• Seizure
• Coma

To prevent hypoglycemia, or if you already have low blood sugar, you will need to consume a small snack that has at least 15 to 20 grams of carbohydrates. Best examples include:

• Juice
• Hard candy
• Dried fruit
• In severe cases of hypoglycemia, you may need to be hospitalized for medical intervention.
• Anxiety and its Symptoms

All of us have experienced anxiety at some point in our lives. Anxiety is described as a feeling of distress, uneasiness, or dread in response to an unfamiliar, dangerous, or stressful situation.⁽⁶⁾ Feeling anxious before any important event in your life or when you feel unsafe is a normal response of the body.⁽⁷⁾

However, anxiety that is excessive, unmanageable, and continues till it begins to interfere with your daily life or occurs for an extended period of time is known as an anxiety disorder, and it may need to be treated medically.

There are several types of anxiety disorders, including:⁽⁸⁾

• Generalized anxiety disorder
• Social anxiety disorder
• Post-traumatic stress disorder
• Panic disorder
• Obsessive-compulsive disorder
• Specific phobias

Anxiety symptoms tend to vary from person to person and can include both emotional as well as physical symptoms. These may include:

• Trouble relaxing
• Inability to manage worrying thoughts
• Nervousness
• Restlessness
• Irritability or mood swings
• Trouble concentrating
• Insomnia
• Muscle tension
• Tightness in the chest
• A constant fear of something terrible happening
• Upset stomach or abdominal pain
• Avoiding certain events, places, or people
• Fast heart rate

It is essential to balance your food intake with your diabetes medications to keep your blood sugar levels under control. Not maintaining this balance can cause a variety of problems, including hypoglycemia. Hypoglycemia, as mentioned earlier, comes with a variety of uncomfortable and unpleasant symptoms, which can turn out to be severe enough to need medical intervention.

Once you have had a hypoglycemic episode, it is natural to start worrying about the possibility of having more such attacks. While some people are capable of managing such type of worry, for others, this fear and worry of having future episodes tend to become intense, and many times, they are unable to handle this anxiety.

This condition is actually known as a fear of hypoglycemia (FOH). It is similar to any other type of phobia people may have, including a fear of snakes or water.^(9,10)

In people with severe fear of hypoglycemia, they tend to become overly cautious or even hyperaware about monitoring their blood sugar levels. In some cases, people with a fear of hypoglycemia may also try to maintain their blood sugar levels above the recommended levels and continue worrying about these levels round the clock till the time it becomes an obsession.

Studies have shown that there is a strong link between having diabetes and anxiety.⁽¹¹⁾ A study carried out in 2008 found that clinically diagnosed anxiety was 20 percent greater in Americans with diabetes as compared to Americans who did not have diabetes.⁽¹²⁾

A diagnosis of diabetes is bound to cause some anxiety. It is natural to worry about how the disease will require you to make certain, perhaps undesirable, changes to your lifestyle or that you now have lesser control over your health.

Additionally, following a strict schedule of medication, dietary changes, exercising routines, blood glucose monitoring, and possible smoking cessation are also some of the factors that are a common part of diabetes treatment that can make a person feel anxious.

There are many tried and tested treatment options for anxiety due to fear of hypoglycemia. If anxiety about having a hypoglycemia episode has started to affect your day to day life, you can discuss about the following treatment options with your doctor.

Your doctor may recommend you to a professional mental health professional for help. A psychologist or psychiatrist can help make a proper diagnosis and provide the treatment you need. This can include cognitive-behavioral therapy and medications.⁽¹³⁾

An approach known as graduated exposure therapy has shown to be useful in helping confront fears related to hypoglycemia and diabetes in general. It has shown to be effective in managing patients’ anxiety. Exposure therapy gradually keeps exposing you to specific situations that you fear but in a safe environment.⁽¹⁴⁾ For example, if you have been obsessive about monitoring your blood sugar levels, your therapist may suggest that you delay checking your blood sugar levels by one minute, to begin with. You would then gradually start increasing this delay to 10 minutes and more as you get comfortable dealing with your anxiety.

The better you understand the risk of hypoglycemia and the ways in which you can take care and better prepare for a potential episode, the easier it becomes to manage your anxiety and fears. Discussing with your doctor will help you assess your overall risk, and together with your doctor, you can develop a plan that enables you to prepare in case you have a hypoglycemic episode.

Many people like to purchase a glucagon kit in case of any emergency.⁽¹⁵⁾ You can discuss this option with your doctor first. You can also teach your family members and friends about how to use the kit in case of severe low blood glucose levels. Knowing that there are others who can help you in an emergency often helps reduce anxiety related to hypoglycemia.

Blood Glucose Awareness Training (BGAT) is a procedure designed to help people with diabetes manage their condition better by helping them understand how dietary choices, insulin, and physical activity can affect their blood sugar levels. This type of training helps you feel more in control of your blood sugar and your overall health. In turn, this can ease the anxiety related to hypoglycemic episodes.⁽¹⁶⁾

If you have diabetes, worrying about the possibility of having a hypoglycemic episode is normal. Experiencing a hypoglycemic episode can be frightening, which is why the fear of experiencing future episodes can make people anxious. However, if this fear starts to affect your day to day life and also impairs your ability to manage your diabetes, then you might be having an anxiety disorder known as a fear of hypoglycemia. Talking to your doctor can help you understand how to deal with your anxiety. They will be able to provide you with the required knowledge about how to manage your blood sugar levels to avoid having an episode of hypoglycemia.

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