by Carolyn Thomas   ♥   @HeartSisters

According to the Canadian Mental Health Association’s useful little publication called Coping With Stress, it is sometimes easier to recognize the damaging effects of chronic stress in others than in yourself.

“You may have learned to endure rather than overcome emotional chaos caused by stress. And your problems may already have begun to feel familiar and “normal”.  This can negatively impact your physical health – sometimes drastically. Yet many of us are unaware or unwilling to admit that we are under stress.”

Does this sound familiar?  It sure did for me. In fact, it was only after my heart attack that I was able to accurately assess the more-or-less chronic state of stress that had somehow become normalized for me. We now know that this kind of stress can have deadly consequences as a risk factor for both heart disease and stroke. People who are having problems dealing with extreme ongoing stress may live with high blood pressure, elevated levels of LDL (bad) cholesterol, obesity, diabetes and perhaps most deadly of all – stickier blood platelets that are more likely to clot inside coronary arteries.

Take this quiz to help you rate your own stress index – just answer YES or NO to each of these questions, and give yourself one point for each YES:  Continue reading “Is everyday stress gnawing at your arteries? Take this quiz to find out” →