Anxiety is the most common reason why anyone visits a medical professional. It could be to directly address anxious episodes. It could also be because we notice symptoms that we don’t realize are being caused by anxiety and its corresponding stress hormones.
It’s hardly breaking news that anxiety can make your heart pound and flutter. When our stress response kicks in, we might panic and assume it’s heart-related. The hormones released in times of stress (or perceived stress) are brilliantly designed to prepare us to handle a threat. However, if we struggle with discerning what constitutes danger, our heart can present with stress symptoms virtually all the time.
Anxiety and the Heart: The Potential Physical Toll
As you can see, anxiety is far from just a mental health concern. When we believe that a threat or risk has entered the picture, our bodies take important measures. Those measures can literally save our lives. However, unless we manage stress effectively, those same measures can become chronic and take a toll on our hearts. For example, palpitations, increased heart rate, and elevated blood pressure are all common.
Inflammation is also associated with chronic anxiety. When inflammation increases in your body, it can lead to plaque buildup in the arteries and commence the development of heart disease. From there, your risk of heart attacks and heart failure rises. In addition, when anxiety becomes a daily reality, it can weaken your heart muscles and cause cardiomyopathy. This is just a small sampling, but nonetheless, a sampling that could involve heart attacks, strokes, and more.
Everyone Responds Differently
Someone with an anxiety disorder doesn’t need another reason to worry. The information provided above does not mean you or anyone else is guaranteed to experience such outcomes. However, such research should not be ignored—especially if you’ve been experiencing symptoms. Simply put, since anxiety can be the root cause of heart-related problems, it makes a whole lot of sense to take active steps in the name of managing anxious thoughts.
Strategies to Help Control Anxiety and Protect Your Heart
Awareness and Acceptance
If you feel like everything makes you worry, you may do your best to suppress anxiety symptoms. They’re simply more than you feel you can deal with. In reality, the most helpful approach is to accept what’s happening. Recognize the need for change and seek the help you need.
Identify Your Triggers
Someone with an anxiety disorder might see danger around every corner. Such hyper-vigilance is unhealthy, but it can point you in a helpful direction. Take time to monitor when you feel the most anxiety. Where were you? Who were you with? What was going on? Identifying your triggers empowers you to preempt anxious episodes.
Relaxation Techniques
Once you accept the need for change and can name your triggers, how can you embrace a peaceful lifestyle? Stress management and relaxation techniques are steps to soothe yourself and build resilience. Such steps might include:
- Mindful Meditation: Taking a few minutes to ground yourself in the present moment is crucial. Use that time to explore your thoughts without judgment.
- Breathing Exercises: You can find countless variations on this theme. What matters is that you calmly focus on your inhales and exhales in a way that eases your mind.
- Movement: We are created to move. Hence, our sedentary lifestyle can facilitate higher levels of anxiety. Find an activity that lights you up and make it part of your daily life.
Anxiety Therapy Is an Ideal Starting Point
In the privacy and calm of an anxiety therapy room, you can start deconstructing the factors that are holding you back. I invite you to reach out and learn more about this healing journey.
