For people living with conditions such as diabetes and heart disease, anxiety and stress can be overwhelming. Now is a good time to take a breath,  look at some of your habits and see if you can make positive changes.

For example, are you staying up too late or overindulging in your favorite comfort foods? Is it hard to concentrate or make decisions? If so, you’re not alone. Here are some  questions to help you gauge your level of anxiety:

If stress interferes with your daily activities for several days in a row, call your health care provider.

Anxiety can make the best-laid plans fall apart. But it’s key for people with conditions like heart disease and diabetes to stick to their treatment plans and to consult their health care providers if they are struggling.

Meanwhile, there are a number of things you can do to help reduce your anxiety.

Here are some  tips:

If you’re feeling overwhelmed by anxiety or sadness, contact your primary care provider, your health insurer or your employer’s Employee Assistance Program, if available, to find a mental health provider.

But a truly holistic plan doesn’t stop there – it also includes a strong support system. You may be doing great on your own for some things, but everyone struggles in some areas. Maybe you’re overwhelmed by all the information, or maybe you’re nervous about the future. It can often be stressful to manage everything.

We all need a little help and encouragement sometimes. Here are tips for building a support system to cheer you on, and give you the boost you need to stay motivated and positive.

For support, you can look to people you know and trust or even expand your circles to include new friends. Everyone needs a shoulder to lean on and you might be surprised by how many people are willing to help. Some people who might be good partners on your journey:

Some ways to build a healthy lifestyle with diabetes:

With your support network in mind, start with just one area that you’d like to improve. The others will soon follow. Rallying support can help you stay focused so you can make it happen. Find answers to your questions and sign up to receive our monthly email with science-backed tips, recipes and more below.

Keeping up with doctor appointments, health numbers—glucose numbers, blood pressure numbers, weight and others—and making multiple decisions per day about meals and medications bring a unique mental burden for people who are managing both diabetes and heart disease.

Feeling overwhelmed “is not something that represents any kind of a failing,” said Jeffrey Gonzalez, professor of psychology at Yeshiva University and professor of medicine, epidemiology and population health at Albert Einstein College of Medicine. “It’s normal to be stressed about it and it’s not something that you have to hold back from health care providers. It comes with the territory.”

Gonzalez recommended that patients talk with their health care team about their feelings.

And, if appropriate, address signs of depression. Gonzalez noted that it can negatively impact quality of life and the ability to work, be productive and enjoy time with friends and family.

Kelly Close, founder of The diaTribe Foundation, a nonprofit diabetes advocacy organization, said that diabetes and heart disease can impact mental well-being even in people who aren’t clinically depressed.

Close said new medical advances, such as continuous glucose monitoring, can help some people manage the myriad daily decisions someone must make when living with diabetes. The wearable devices provide feedback about how meals, exercise and medication impact blood glucose (also called blood sugar) on a continuous basis. “We like thinking about what we can do in managing diabetes,” Close said.

Other things you can do, she says, are getting enough sleep, increasing physical activity and eating an appropriate diet.

While aerobic exercise that gets the heart pumping appears to produce the most endorphins, the hormone associated with the so-called runner’s high, even light-intensity exercise is associated with well-being. Those activities might include taking a walk around the block, using the stairs instead of the elevator or gardening.

Observational studies suggest that eating fruits, vegetables, whole grains and lean protein sources such as fish appears to be associated with a reduced risk of depression as compared to diets high in processed foods and sugar. Lean proteins are part of a heart-healthy diet as well, so this is a win-win for your overall health.

There are mental and emotional benefits of getting good sleep. Sleep deprivation is linked to negative mood and irritability. A stable mood is helpful when you’re making health decisions.

In addition to the mental health benefits of better sleep research has shown that people with high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, heart disease or stroke could have additional health problems if they sleep less than six hours per night.

Both the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association offer online support groups and communities. Research shows that people with social support tend to stick with healthy lifestyle habits more so than those without such support.

Norton understands—the Cuban-American was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes when she was 18.

“For many cultures, our experiences are surrounded by food,” Norton said. “We have a lot of memories of food. First and foremost, we should never have to give that up because we have diabetes.”

Considering that heart disease and stroke are the most common complications of diabetes, an eating plan is an even more important part of managing diabetes.

As part of its minority initiative, DiabetesSisters sponsors outreach events for various ethnic groups throughout the country. For example, one in the Washington, D.C., area focuses on African American food and culture. In New Jersey, it’s geared toward women from Southeast Asia. In Miami, presentations are in Spanish.

The groups are very sensitive to food and culture. “What does a Dominican plate look like for people with diabetes? What does a Puerto Rican plate look like?”

Juanita Cano of Dallas doesn’t have diabetes. But “everyone in my family does,” she said. As a Champion in the American Heart Association and American Diabetes Association’s Know Diabetes by Heart™ initiative, she eats healthy to prevent diabetes—and to avoid heart disease.

That means “letting go of pan dulce, arroz con leche and other desserts,” Cano said. It’s been tough, she said, but she’s found balance by focusing on lean-meat for fajitas and carne asada, and chicken or fish cooked in small amounts of olive oil or grilled. She flavors food with chimichurri, a sauce with vinegar, olive oil, parsley and other herbs and spices, as well as fresh tomato salsa.

“You don’t have to give up Mexican food completely,” Cano said. “But just learning how to make substitutions and better choices can improve your health tremendously.”

“People do need to adjust what they eat,” Norton said. “We’ve been able to drive that home, and at our events, women walk out feeling empowered about what they can have, not what they can’t.”

Hyvelle Ferguson Davis, a Know Diabetes by Heart Ambassador, was diagnosed with gestational diabetes while pregnant with her son. During her pregnancy, she was diligent about eating right. But after he was born, she went back to foods she’d grown up eating: “Chicken wings, red velvet cake, fried chicken, barbecue ribs. There was nothing I wasn’t eating,” she said.

But after having a stroke and heart surgery, she began making exchanges: Almond milk for whole milk. Chicken for beef. Whole-wheat bread for white. Water for sodas.

“That was hard in the beginning,” she said, “but I have gotten better with time.”

In the 26 years since her diagnosis, Norton has learned that she can “eat anything I want,” she said. “I just need to be moderate.” Here are some more of her culture-friendly tips for dealing with a diabetes diagnosis: