Book excerpt: Reduce stress and its harmful complications to your disease Diabetes is a stressful disease and only adds stress to our busy lives. Prolonged stress can cause serious and extensive harm to our hearts, kidneys, eyes, nerves, and mental well-being. Learning to manage stress well will help you manage not only your blood glucose levels, but also your life. Stress-Free Diabetes offers a creative, imaginative, and practical approach to stress management. Stress-Free Diabetes covers: Stress and the body and the mindBeing emotionally smartEssential people skillsSetting realistic goalsStaying grounded and mindfulAnticipating problems and solving themThe importance of humor