SARASOTA – Angelo S. Domingo, PsyD, says when he and other psychologists talk about heart health, they don’t talk about cholesterol or blockages.
“We talk about stress and chronic stress,” Domingo said.
He says chronic stress doesn’t just take a toll on our emotions; it changes our chemical makeup.
“It causes hormonal changes, all of which affect the heart in a negative way,” Domingo said.
Domingo says chronic stressors include sitting in traffic or having a hard day at work.
“Our bodies don’t understand modern day stress. Our bodies don’t understand work stress; they don’t understand traffic. What our bodies do understand is danger,” Domingo said.
When we get stressed he says blood flow is actually steered away from our brains.
“We can’t think clearly anymore, our heart rate goes up, our blood pressure goes up, we start to sweat, blood flow pulls into our muscles, and our breathing rate becomes more rapid,” Domingo said.
The good news, he says, is we can use tools to control our stress and anxiety.
“There are a couple of tricks to manage our breathing, like smell the roses, and blow out the candles,” Domingo said, exhaling. “It breaks that cycle. Your blood pressure will go down; you’ll stop sweating.”
He says heart health goes so far beyond diet and exercise, but we have to be willing to put in the emotional work to get there.
“There’s help out there – lots of help. All people need to do is ask for it. There’s no shame in asking for help,” Domingo said.
