Heal Your Mind to Heal Your Heart

A study in the Journal of Behavioral Medicine has indicated that once anxiety and
depression sets in, youve unleashed the possibility that youll develop heart
disease in the future.
We all know some of the factors that contribute to heart disease primarily
genetics and our poor food consumption (or lack of healthy foods in our diets).
But most people never consider sheer stress and anxiety as a source of actual
damage to their bodys heart.

The Connection Between Disease and Depression

The study carried out at the School of Population Health of the University of
Queensland in Australia, was focused on women over 40 who had experienced
stress but who had no sign of heart disease. Over time, their depression and
anxiety seems to be a factor in the development of heart disease.
It was a 15-year look at how heart disease developed in these women.
Researchers were looking for both depression and anxiety combined as a
contributing factor.
What they found was that in the women who were newly diagnosed with heart
disease during the study, they were more likely to have both depression and
anxiety.
What scientists concluded is that when you have these types of mental health
issues to fight in your life, your nervous system cant perform accurately. And
when youre depressed, you tend to lack physical activity, engage in unhealthy
food, cigarette and alcohol addictions, and neglect your overall well being.
Another 10-year study by the Heart Foundation found that heart attacks can
occur from major life traumas, such as the death of someone you love, disasters
of nature like hurricanes, tornadoes, etc., and domestic terror attacks.
The study also found that chronic stress especially in women over the age of
45 contributed to more heart problems as well. But that doesnt let men off the
hook, though.
No study to date has singled out stress as the sole determining factor for having
heart disease, but theres no mistaking the fact that it can contribute to it. It could
be because depression and anxiety cause poor self-care behaviors.

One thing doctors know is that a large number of patients visits to the doctor are
due to chronic stress. It can take a toll on your body, causing fatigue, panic
attacks, high blood pressure, high cholesterol and more.
What happens when you get stressed is that your body experiences a fight or
flight reaction. Your adrenaline gets pumping and you tense up. Your heart rate
soars. Fat gets released into your blood because its used to give you a jolt of
energy. Even your blood clots easier.
This wouldnt be a problem for your heart if it happened once in awhile, but for
many individuals, depression and anxiety is a never-ending problem. Your heart
needs rest and relaxation.
It shouldnt always be battling increased blood pressure, a barrage of cholesterol,
and rapid heart beat. What will happen is that your heart might start beating
abnormally more often than not. Your arties can thicken, too setting you up for
a heart attack or stroke.

Gauging Your Stress Level for Heart Health

You may or may not have an issue where stress in the form of depression and
anxiety is affecting your heart health. Some people have minor stress while
others are mired in it and dont even realize how bad its become.
Ask yourself if youve been going through a lot of traumatic, nerve-wracking or
frustrating situations in the past year. That might include:

Changing jobs, having stress in an existing one, or having no job

Adding to your family either with a birth or marriage

Losing a loved one or a good friend

Long health issues

Struggling in a relationship

Moving

Continual stress like traffic

Being sued

Struggling with money

Think about how youve physically felt lately. Stress is evident in our minds, but
sometimes we overlook the physical effect until its too late. If youre burdened by
an unhealthy amount of stress, you might notice a few common stress signs
early on.
Your jaw might hurt in the morning. This is a sign youre clenching your jaw or
grinding your teeth at night. You might also suffer from headaches and feel stiff in
your neck area.
As stress really takes a toll on your body, symptoms get more serious. You might
have dizzy spells, insomnia, feelings of panic attacks where your heart is racing,
youre sweating and you feel nauseous.

Ways to Cope With High or Chronic Stress

If you make a decision that stress might be an issue for you, then you have to
see if youre capable of getting it under control so that your heart is protected and
youre not setting yourself up for a heart attack or stroke.
First, there are some things you dont want to do when it comes to managing
your stress. Dont take the route of asking your doctor to let you pop a pill for
your stress unless its a last option. Pills just mask a problem they dont help
you learn to cope.
Dont use food to help you get in a better mood. The comfort food that many
people use to self medicate during stress only causes more problems for your
health.
Never turn to cigarettes and alcohol (or drugs) to help ease your anxiety. None of
these things assists you in building a healthier heart. They just do more damage
to your body.
Exercise by itself helps your heart but it also releases endorphins, which help
your stress levels plummet back to a manageable level. You can get as little as
20 minutes of exercise a day to reap the benefits of exercise.
Practice good time management. Whether youre rushing around because youve
overscheduled yourself or youve procrastinated to a point where youre now
panicked, a lack of time is one of the top stressors most people list about their
lives.

Implement good sleep hygiene. That means youre protecting your heart by
getting plenty of Zs at night. You cant function properly and handle stress
gracefully when youre running on empty.
Just as not getting plenty of sleep can be a problem, it can also be a problem if
you get too much sleep. Thats a sign of depression, so if you cant get out of bed
and face the day, it might be time to call the doctor and set up an appointment for
professional help.
Eliminate any stress that you can. That might include:

Tasks at your job that you can delegate

After school activities

Community commitments

Chores that others can help with

Toxic relationships that bring you down

Drains on your financial stores

Start replacing bad habits with good habits. Things like nutrition may not sound
like it affects stress levels (and in turn heart health), but it does. When you feel
like your energy is drained because youve crashed from a sugar high, and
youre not tired it makes you unable to handle stress as well.
Engage in specific stress relief measures. For some, it might be:

Deep breathing

Yoga

Aromatherapy

Hypnosis

Connect with friends by socializing

Tai Chi

Meditation

Learn how to say no to other peoples demands. You might have people from
your personal life, from your childs school, from your church, or from work trying
to get you to take on more responsibilities. If you need less stress, dont be afraid
to say no.
If anger is your primary reaction, then you need to focus on anger management
so that you can control your reactions to the daily stress that you undergo. And
let go of any grudges youve been holding against other people because it only
wears you down physically and emotionally.

Embracing a Positive Mindset

Its been proven that optimists live longer than pessimists. Thats because those
who look at life with a glad half empty are often suffering from heart sabotaging
issues like depression and anxiety.
But its not as easy as flipping a switch and suddenly thinking everything is all
rainbows and unicorns. In fact, youre not supposed to wear rose-colored glasses
and be fake about how great life is, either.
What you need to do is work on a mindset where youre realistic about what life
has given you and then tackle it with a positive attitude that youre capable of
working through any issues that arise.
Theres always going to be stress in your life. Its unavoidable as a whole. But
with the right attitude, you can meet situations head to head and handle them
with ease.
Every day you need to reiterate to yourself that youre capable of handling
whatever arises. Stay level-headed about whats going on. Dont overreact and
make a bigger deal out of something than it really is.
Take a deep breath and look at whatevers happening and think logically about
how you can make it better. Dont let feelings of doom and gloom overrun your
thoughts.
Chances are the worst-case scenario will never happen, and even if it did, its not
the end of the world. Youll recover from it. How can you get a better mindset that
helps vaccinate you against stress and protect your heart?
Practice positive affirmations. This is when you vocally and mentally reaffirm to
yourself that things are going to be okay. Some people start their day off this way
and end it this way or call on positive affirmations during times of crisis.

Smile. Research shows that smiling actually improves your stress handling
abilities but not just any smile will do. It needs to be a full smile where your
eyes and the muscles around the mouth actually change shape.
Find ways to laugh a lot. Whether its through a funny show on TV or a date night
out to a live comedy club, laughter can help people physically and emotionally.
When you laugh, the lining of your blood vessels dilates and improves blood flow.
Finding ways to manage your stress wont just ensure that your heart is
protected. Its going to give you a better quality of life, which will improve your
relationships, too.