1 / 14

Know Your Heart Online Workshop

Know Your Heart Online Workshop. Stress Management for Heart Health. Understanding Stress for Heart Health. What is stress? Your emotional and physical reaction to a challenge, situation or threat that causes you to adjust your thoughts or actions.

karif
Download Presentation

Know Your Heart Online Workshop

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Know Your Heart Online Workshop Stress Management for Heart Health

  2. Understanding Stress for Heart Health • What is stress? • Your emotional and physical reaction to a challenge, situation or threat that causes you to adjust your thoughts or actions. • The challenge, situation or threat can be real or imagined. • Is stress bad for my heart? • Ongoing stress can increase your risk of heart disease depending on how your body responds. • Stress can be a risk factor or a cause, for example, if you are experiencing ongoing stress your blood pressure and cholesterol may rise as you may find yourself smoking and/or eating more.

  3. What Is A Stressor? • Astressoris anything that makes you feel stressed. • Stressors can be: • Minor inconveniences • Major life changes • Combinations of both minor and major life events • Perception of events and situations • Stressors appear everyday. Both minor and major stressors can impact your health in a negative way. Examples below:

  4. Does Stress Impact Us All the Same? • People respond differently to life events and situations. • For example, one person may be excited and empowered by the thought of giving a speech while another may find the idea nerve-racking and dreadful. • The example above shows how a persons perception of an event can cause very different emotional and physical stress responses. • People often make situations worse by responding with emotions like anger, frustration, guilt, worry or hostility that in turn increases the heart rate, blood pressure and encourages the release of cortisol, the stress hormone.

  5. Does All Stress Harm My Heart? • Stress comes in many forms, and sometimes is necessary. When the car in front of you slams on their brakes you must react. That reaction is a stress response and an important one. • Short bursts of the hormone adrenaline and prolonged release of cortisol help with the flight vs. fight reaction we need to survive. • When a growling dog runs toward you your physical stress response prepares you to defend yourself or run! • Ongoing and everyday stress that continues to prompt a physiological response, can cause elevated levels of cortisol and adrenaline. These are linked to changes in the way blood clots and heart attacks. www.webmd.com/heart-disease/news/20100909/stress-hormone-predicts-heart-death • Things like email, traffic, family commitments, and deadlines can cause the survival stress response, which is not necessary.

  6. Warning Signs of Stress • Stress is almost always an emotional reaction to a situation that impacts your ability to think clearly and make good decisions. • The behavioral, emotional, mental and physical warning signs of stress can serve as early indicators that you need to take action to reduce your stress levels before health problems develop or worsen. Below are some common signs and symptoms. • Behavioral Signs: • Impulsive actions: compulsive eating, explosive actions. • Increased use of drugs or alcohol to reduce stress. • Trouble staying on task.

  7. Warning Signs of Stress - Continued • Emotional Signs: • Anger, frequent mood swings, irritability . • Anxiety, crying, depression, feeling powerless. • Loneliness, negative thinking, nervousness, sadness. • Mental Signs: • Difficulty making choices, lack of concentration. • Constant worry, loss of sense of humor. • Forgetfulness, lack of creativity. • Physical Signs: • General aches and pains, headaches, trembling . • Teeth grinding, jaw clenching, muscle tension. • Weight gain, indigestion, upset stomach. • Heart racing, dizziness, ringing in the ears. • View the KYH Understanding Your Heart Numbers online learning module.

  8. Strategies To Deal With Stress • Get Moving • Exercise regularly, include activities that increase your heart rate. • Endorphins that are released during exercise promote positive attitude. • View the KYH Get A Move On –online learning module. • Sit Still • Get enough rest, time resting should be long enough to relax your body and mind. • Meditation, controlled breathing exercises, listen to music, yoga.

  9. Strategies To Deal With Stress Continued • Make a To-Do List • Create a reasonable list of tasks for each day. Celebrate each time an item is crossed off. • Clear Clutter • Everything has a place. If it doesn’t have a place then either find one or get rid of it. • Clean closets, get rid of the piles of projects that “I just haven’t gotten to yet.”

  10. Strategies To Deal With Stress Continued • Eat Right • Eat a balanced diet and drink alcohol in moderation. • Visit www.mypyramid.gov to find your nutritional needs. • View the KYH Feeding A Smart Heart online learning module. • Define Goals • Take time to identify long and short term goals. • Create reasonable timelines. • Say “No” when tasks arise that will overwhelm you or shift focus away from goals.

  11. Perception And Attitude Really Matter • Maintaining a positive attitude is more than putting on a smile. It keeps you in control when stressors that we cannot control appear. Good feelings cause the release of endorphins and DHEA, the anti-stress hormone. • Try these tips to increase positive perceptions and attitudes: • Breathe deeply to stay calm, think about the reality of the situation. Examine options and solutions carefully. • Try to look at challenges as opportunities. • Be flexible and objective. Imagine yourself as an outsider to the situation. What action would you suggest? • Know that you can work to solve most problems and that it is OK to ask for help.

  12. How Can I Reduce My Stressors? • Stress cannot be completely eliminated, but taking control of stressors can help to reduce the negative impact of stress on your heart and life. • Identify stressors and eliminate them whenever possible. • If you cannot get rid of the stressor problem solve how to deal with it in a positive way. • Get organized. For example, finding our keys each morning shouldn’t be a consistent source of stress. • Take short breaks during stressful moments to regroup. You will find that you can problem solve better. • Forget multi-tasking for every project. Most times, focus on the job at hand and then move to the next task.

  13. Resources to Learn More • Programs: • www.delnor.com • www.heartmath.org • Books/Articles: • http://stress.about.com/od/books/Books_for_Stress_Management_Reviews_and_Recommendatins.htm • www.webmd.com • Guided Imagery • Biofeedback • Progressive muscle relaxation

  14. Know Your Heart Online Workshop • Thank you for participating in this online workshop! • Visit us at www.delnor.com to learn about our other programs, including our free Know Your Heart Risk Assessments and Workshops. • Questions? Call us at 630-208-3999

More Related