Quiet Disposition / Slow Destruction

A man gets angry and blows his top. A woman is pushed to her limit and rages ij the check-out line. A child throws a temper tantrum. All of these outbursts of negative emotions are detrimental to good health.It is not at all hard to realize the destructive qualities of the more obviously negative emotions. But perhaps even more destructive are the more quiet of negative emotions. 

I sat with a woman last night who lost her husband a few months ago. Her relationship with her husband was one of love and respect. They shared mutual interests and joys. Their lives were completely intertwined. His sudden death left her alone and ultimately lonely. She no longer found joy in things that they had shared. It seemed that everything that she did reminded her of her loss. She had sunk into despair, loneliness and depression. No one had noticed. As far as her neighbors and family knew, she was adjusting well. She kept to herself, but they did not recognize her isolation as a response to the desperation that she felt. 

It was her son that recognized that she was not doing well. I came to her home, and immediately saw signs of high blood pressure, stress, and physical anxiety. 

We sat together, and within two hours, I saw her stress level go down. She talked of her past, her grandmother, her husband, their friendship. She was calm sometimes, she cried others. It was a healthy dialogue. Quickly she was sitting calmly and her flushed face and trembling hands were folded demurely in her lap. 

This woman was suffering from depression and isolation. Her emotions were eroding her health. 

I spoke with her about the importance of finding a new outlet for her emotions. Instead of her desire to internalize her pains, she needs to find various activities that will expose her to future friendships and relationships that will give her an outlet for her emotions. She no longer attended church. She used to be involved with elderly in the home where her mother used to live. I encouraged her to attend church this weekend, to bake a dozen cookies and visit the home where her mother lived.

Just getting out and engaging with others will help her. She will find people who will value her and she will be able to release some of the great pain that she feels. She will IN TURN be blessed with the positive happenings and emotions that we feel when we interact with others. I am looking forward to her growth through this grieving process and into the new life that she will find!

Emotions are VITAL to your health!

Emotions affect Many things.

If we can realize the great strength that we have over our own bodies by focusing and recognizing the effect that our emotions have on our bodies, we cannot deny that our emotions will also greatly affect those around us. 

Have you ever come home happy at the end of a day, just to find your spouse “fuming” about some incident? How does that affect your feelings? Do we allow the whims of others to affect us? 

Make a decision today to have a positive effect on your emotions and therefore a positive effect on your own physical being. 

By deciding to be in charge of your own emotions, you can still relate to others who might be having a tough time. But you can also realize that their emotions will not dictate to you how YOU will feel. 

We have learned the strength of emotions. We will continue to attempt to educate each other regarding various emotions and how our emotions and emotional responses can affect us physically.

The University of Sonoma lists 262 emotions. Choose wisely what emotions you are willing to dwell on. They will mold your tomorrows, both emotionally and physically.

Mind of Matter? or Mind our Emotions?!

Emotions affect you Mind

Just as it is true that our Mood affects our emotions, if we continue to think on negative things and respond with negative emotions. It is these negative thoughts that will eventually compromise our heart-health. 

Worry is an emotion that can immediately affect our blood pressure. Anger is another. The list can go on...

Despair, Fear, Agitation, Insecurity, Betrayal, Revenge.... See! your mind has already recognized and isolated certain emotions and certain instances that you relate to these feelings. Continuously dwelling on these emotions will eventually have a deleterious affect on your health. 

The "Wises Man in the World" (King Solomon) wrote:

"A sound heart is the life of the flesh: but envy the rottenness of the bones." He also wrote this about what we do having a positive affect on our emotions. He said "he that hath mercy on the poor, happy is he."

We have all known people that seem to enjoy dwelling on negative emotions. These people also have a negative thought-life. If they are regularly sad or blue, their thoughts will evolve to conform to their emotions. But we can choose to be better. I can choose to be bettter. YOU can choose to be better! 

Have a GREAT day!

and a Positive Mind!

Mood and Emotions go Hand in Hand!

It will be my intention to focus on the affects of our emotions and our emotional responses upon our physical being.

It won’t take you long to notice or admit that your emotions often will affect your being. The University of Chicago has released a study that reveals and discusses the physiological alterations that are brought about by our emotions. http://psychology.uchicago.edu/people/faculty/cacioppo/jtcreprints/cbkp97.pdf These affects are often referred to as Somatic Theories of Emotion.

For today, we’ll just take a quick glance of some of the most obvious ways that our emotions can affect us physically.

Emotions affect Mood.

According to Sonoma University our Mood is “A disposition to acquire certain emotional states of mind in certain situations.” http://www.sonoma.edu/users/s/swijtink/teaching/philosophy_101/paper1/listemotions.htm  More clearly stated. Our mood will make it easier to respond to or feel certain emotions. For instance if our mood is “good” then we will be more prone to feel the emotions of joy or elation. If our Mood is “bad” we will more quickly respond with emotions of anger, sadness or sorrow.  Therefore, the contrary is also true. If we want to change our mood, reacting and responding with “positive” emotions will help to affect our Mood. Watching a funny movie, talking to a friend that you know will “pick you up” can change your mood and in turn change your day and ultimately change your physical being.

We should be continuously attempting to better ourselves. This includes socially, educationally and physicaly. we should TRY to make a difference when we CAN make a difference. attempt to have an "open" mood today so that you will be willing to encourage and allow positive emotions. these positive emotions will better your day and possibly add even MORE days!

Happy St. Valentine's Day!

love you, Dad!
~Kathy (your half-dollar-eyes)

Bless Your Heart!

My heart bleeds

My heart longs

My heart breaks

My heart is blessed

Our heart is often ‘blamed’ for many things. But in our culture our heart is understood to be the organ that processes and circulates our blood. The “heart” in the above statements is understood to mean our emotions. Then why do we refer to our heart? It is not a new concept, but an interesting thought. Our feelings do affect our heart.

Often if I find myself in an emotionally stressful situation, I can notice certain physiological changes in my being. If I am worried I will notice my blood pressure rise. If I am content I might realize my blood pressure lowering a bit. These changes in our emotions have an instant affect on our physical health. Over a longer period of time, these emotions can have a literal effect on our physical being.

When completing a physical examination a doctor might ask about a patient’s emotional health. If the person tends to worry a lot or tends to give into anger a lot, they will often attempt to prescribe a “fix” to the emotional problem. These doctors recognize the roll of emotions in our physical health.

Valentine’s Day is coming upon us. And as much as it is fun and fulfilling to think about our emotional heart, take some time to link our emotional heart with our physical heart. If you can make a change in your negative emotions, it stands to reason that you will be able to make a permanent change in your physical heart as well.

“Happy Valentine’s Day”

“Bless your Heart”

“My heart goes with you!”

REHABILITATION!

So, I know my blog's been posting (and I'm so glad it has), but i've been out of commission since October!
I had a stroke on October 5th! what a frightening ordeal! the details would take too long, and seem only interesting to me right now, so I won't make you suffer through them.
I am 45 years old. I have 5 children. I am overweight. I do NOT exercise... or atleast... I didn't!
But of course, now, my health has become extremely important. It was something that I ignored and took for granted. But now I'm a new person, with a hightened awareness of my heart and blood health!
I'll be saying more in the near future about some of the things i have learned, and some of the things that may be able to help YOU!
TTYL :-)