Stress and Your Heart

Stress and anxiety can cause symptoms that may feel like a heart attack.
Rapid heartbeats, pressure on the chest, sweating, trembling are symptoms
that sends people to the ER, sometimes to find out that they have had a panic
attack and not a heart attack. Needless to say, it is very important to have it
checked out by your doctor and get these symptoms appropriately diagnosed.
Even if you know you have panic disorder it is a good idea to have your heart
checked out. An occasional panic attack will not damage your heart, but studies
have confirmed that if one lives with chronic panic attacks or high anxiety states
it makes that person more vulnerable to heart problems.

 There is another type of heart abnormality called “broken heart syndrome”.
BHS stems from an emotional shock and has the same type of symptoms as
any other type of heart attack.  Often, within a few hours, the symptoms disappear
and the heart appears healthy under examination.  Some doctors call it “stress
cardiomyopathy”.  It is described at a temporary “stunning” of the heart by stress
hormones which can cause blood vessels to spasm. The phrase “dying of a broken
heart” is a biological reality.

Whatever the cause of the symptoms you may feel in your heart area, it is a good
idea to take a few breaths by inhaling through your nose and exhaling through your
mouth. If a few minutes of controlled breathing does not reduce your symptoms,
or you have the slightest suspicion you may be having a heart attack, it is best to
call 911 immediately. Continue to do the breathing while waiting for the ambulance
so that you do not exacerbate any of your symptoms with fear.

 

Cross-Cultural PTSD Treatment

A group of Tibetan refugee monks had fled from violent religious persecution and arrived
 at Boston Medical Center with symptoms of post-traumatic stress. They complained it
 interfered with their meditation practice.  The monks were diagnosed by
their traditional healers as having srog-rLung, a life-wind imbalance.  According to
Tibetan medicine, this type of disturbance has the potential to develop into a serious
mental illness, leaving the victim at odds with the “balance of the universe” and
jeopardizing their personal health.  Symptoms include uncontrollable crying, excessive
 worrying, and an unhappy mind. Western medicine calls this anxiety, depression,  or post -
traumatic stress disorder.  The  Center for Refugee Health & Human Rights
had to find a way to integrate the spiritual aspects of the Tibetan medical model with
western medicine.  They chose the Tibetan tradition of yogic practice to create a relaxed
state. It combines movement with controlled breathing. Because sound has a direct
connection to the heart, singing bowl therapy was also used. Also used were meditation
advice and qigong exercises. The Tibetan healing practices were combined with the
western techniques of prescribing antidepressants and psychotherapy. .

More can be read about this approach in the March, 2009 issue of Mental Health, Religion,
and Culture.

Movie Recommendation

Because Mother’s Day is coming up in a few weeks I’m including a beautiful movie I have
recently seen, “Antonia’s Line”,  a Dutch movie with subtitles.  It is about a mother, her daughter,
and grand-daughter and starts out in the 1940’s.  The dialogue is almost poetic, the
cinematography is lovely.  The story is moving and inspiring, and I highly recommend it.

Book Recommendation

Clo Nickel’s book “Anxiety’s Inner Voice”  is part memoir and part self-help. It is focused for
women who are struggling with anxiety and panic attacks. Clo portrays her struggle with
anxiety and the underlying emotional issues that contributed to it.  She discusses the anxiety
management techniques that were helpful for her, including some of the newer ideas of anxiety
reduction that come from spiritual traditions.  She shares how the journey through her anxiety
disorder leads to finding her true self.  I highly recommend this book because it integrates
behavioral and cognitive techniques with  the deeper levels of awareness of self that are often
necessary to truly overcome an anxiety disorder (and because I wrote the foreword).

Parting Words

From James Hollis (writer and Jungian analyst), “Suffering is the first clue that something
    [within] is soliciting our attention.”