How can stress affect insulin levels in type 1 diabetes?

Stress doesn’t directly cause diabetes. However, for people already headed in that direction, it can push them along a little faster. You may have heard stories of people whose diabetes began after a stressful experience, such as a severe illness or a car accident.

In type 1 diabetes, the immune system mistakenly destroys the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas. This process usually takes many months, perhaps even years, before enough cells are destroyed to lead to diabetes. 

A person on the way to developing type 1 diabetes makes less and less insulin. A stressful experience increases the need for insulin. So, the in­sulin demands brought on by a stressful experience could overwhelm the body’s ability to produce insulin.