Help your heart by de-stressing for the holiday season

December 10, 2009December 9, 2023 ~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 10 Comments

Ah, Christmas. . . Joy to the world, peace on earth, blahblahblah. For some, the Hallmark card fantasy of the perfect family Christmas is nigh impossible to achieve without the accompanying requisite levels of artery-damaging stress and anxiety by the time the New Year arrives. As Michele Meyer wrote in Heart Healthy Living:

“Whether your family resembles the Waltons or the Sopranos, few family gatherings are without potential for unspoken tensions.”

And psychologist Dr. Susan Heitler reminds us in the the same article:

“Both unresolved resentment and anxious anticipation of conflict during the holidays can harm your heart by spiking anger or depression. The higher the level of emotional arousal, the more stress on your heart.”

If you’re sometimes tempted to just skip Christmas and go straight to Mother’s Day, consider some of these stress-busting tips this year from Toronto author Susan Stern (in Awakening Your Life Skills) who says that we should all start a plan in advance for de-stressing the holiday season as much as possible. For example: Continue reading “Help your heart by de-stressing for the holiday season” →

It’s Handwashing Awareness Week!

December 6, 2009January 16, 2013 ~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 2 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas

When one of our nurses knocked on my office door to tell me that the mandatory Hand Hygiene class for all hospital staff was starting, I sighed: “Oh, for Pete’s sake! I already know how to wash my hands!” But off I went, muttering.

The class started with the instructor teaching us how to scrub-scrub-scrub our hands, in between our fingers, up and down our thumbs, right up to and around the wrists. We learned to do this for 30 full seconds (it’s longer than you think – try singing two verses of ‘Happy Birthday’ just to make sure). Then, she shut off the room lights and took out her special Lumalite that made any leftover germs on our hands glow a bright turquoise. I was stunned by the results. Continue reading “It’s Handwashing Awareness Week!” →

How to cope when your spouse is the heart patient

December 4, 2009March 24, 2018 ~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 4 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters

I’ve heard it said, as bizarre as it may seem, that it may be easier in some ways to be widowed than to be the spouse of a recovering heart patient.

If your spouse has survived a cardiac event, you may even feel grief that seems entirely inappropriate to you, even as you also feel intense relief because he is still alive. You may also experience what’s known as hypervigilance – that sense of dread that yet another crisis is about to happen.

There are role models, as author Rhoda Levin explains, for widows’ behaviour, and appropriate ways to express difficult emotions:

“People respect the time it takes for the widowed to adjust to the changes in their lives. But cardiac spouses have no role models, teachers or mentors. No one, professional or friend, can tell you what changes you will face as a cardiac spouse – and yet change is now your reality. The challenge of any cardiac crisis is facing this reality, letting go of what is lost, and developing new ways to live your new life together.”

If your spouse has recently had a cardiac event, you might find one of these three books helpful: Continue reading “How to cope when your spouse is the heart patient” →

Got a minute? Try this mini-relaxation exercise for your heart health

December 2, 2009September 22, 2023 ~ Carolyn Thomas ~ 2 Comments

by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters

You’re waiting nervously in the dentist’s chair, or white-knuckling a bout of aircraft turbulence, or getting ready to deliver that big presentation at work – or even just wondering how you’ll remain sane given all you need to do between now and Christmas! – and you can already feel the stress tightening its death grip on your whole body, thus increasing the levels of stress hormones that are now coursing through your bloodstream. Not good for your heart!

Instead of tensing up, practise three mini-relaxation techniques, courtesy of Harvard University Medical School’s newsletter Healthbeat, so that you’ll be ready to try them even when time is tight.

When you have only 1 minute:

Place your hand just beneath your navel so you can feel the gentle rise and fall of your belly as you breathe. Breathe in slowly. Pause for a count of three. Breathe out. Pause for a count of three. Continue to breathe deeply for one minute, pausing for a count of three after each inhalation and exhalation.

When you have only 2 minutes:

Count down slowly from 10 to zero. With each number, take one complete breath, inhaling and exhaling. For example, breathe in deeply saying “10” to yourself. Breathe out slowly. On your next breath, say “nine,” and so on. If you feel lightheaded, count down more slowly to space your breaths further apart. When you reach zero, you should feel more relaxed. If not, go through the exercise again.

When you have only 3 minutes:

While sitting down, take a break from whatever you’re doing and check your body for tension. Relax your facial muscles and allow your jaw to fall open slightly. Let your shoulders drop. Let your arms fall to your sides. Allow your hands to loosen so that there are spaces between your fingers. Uncross your legs or ankles. Feel your thighs sink into your chair, letting your legs fall comfortably apart. Feel your shins and calves become heavier and your feet grow roots into the floor. Now breathe in slowly and breathe out slowly. Each time you breathe out, try to relax even more.

See also: McGill University’s Centre for Studies on Human Stress for several tools to help cope with chronic stress.

♥

NOTE from CAROLYN: I wrote more about how chronic stress affects your heart in my book, A Woman’s Guide to Living with Heart Disease. You can ask for it at your local library or bookshop, or order it online (paperback, hardcover or e-book) at Amazon – or order it directly from my publisher, Johns Hopkins University Press (use their code HTWN to save 30% off the list price).