Can Stress Cause Diabetes? Actually having diabetes in itself, is a major source of stress. Many diabetics have much higher rates of anxiety and depression, and learning to deal with this and reducing stress in your day to day activities, is vital. Your body is essentially a hormone factory. Whenever you are stressed - whether it's good or bad stress - your body releases different types of hormones to help you out. For example, it will release adrenaline to give you more energy. Along with these, your liver, muscles and fat will also release glucose. …