How to Avoid Stress to Protect Your Heart
By Brandi Goodman
Significant and prolonged stress can impact your heart greatly. You can start to experience higher blood pressure and increased cholesterol. You might find yourself starting unhealthy habits, such as overeating, smoking, or drinking. Each of these can negatively affect your heart on their own. You need to learn how to avoid stress to protect your heart and keep yourself as healthy as possible.
Keep a Positivity Journal
Always do your best to not let the negative thoughts get to you. This will do nothing but make you feel stressed out and upset. Instead, keep a positivity journal. Never write down anything bad that happens. Always focus on the good that occurred each day. It will help you to see the good in life and prevent you from letting daily stresses get to you so easily.
Find Ways to Laugh
Laughter is said to be some of the best medicine there is. Find ways to laugh each day so you can lower your stress levels and ease your mind. Spend time joking with a friend. Watch a funny video. Rewatch your favorite comedy. There's plenty that can make you laugh in life. You should laugh at yourself when you need to and remind yourself that things aren't that serious.
Get Some Exercise
Instead of letting the stress get to you, get some exercise. It will release endorphins so you experience a boost in mental health while simultaneously improving your physical health. You'll be getting blood and oxygen flowing to your heart, which can protect it, and pumping through the rest of your body as well.
Adopt a Pet
A pet is a great option for keeping your heart healthy. You can feel love in your heart when you have a companion animal to care for and call a friend. Animals are also great for stress. You'll have someone smaller than you to look after, which will help you to focus your mind on something other than your own problems.
Stress isn't always preventable, but there are ways you can work to prevent it from damaging your mental health. Do not let it become so overwhelming that you experience high blood pressure and chest pain because of it. Stress can affect your heart greatly, so always do what you can to avoid it or at least cope with it in healthier ways.
To learn more about your health, wellness, and fitness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in St. Petersburg, Fla.