How to Benefit From the Mind-Body Connection

 

 

How to Benefit From the Mind-Body ConnectionBy Prof Snape

Dr. Bernie Siegel, author of "Love, Medicine and Miracles" was once a distraught surgeon who fretted over his inability to effectively serve his cancer patients. Dr. Siegel's recognition and growing understanding of the mind-body connection eventually allowed him to serve his patients and himself in a greater capacity.

Bernie writes in his book, "When a doctor reports amazing improvements in a patient's condition, he or she almost never mentions that person's beliefs and lifestyle, but when I inquire, I find the patient always has made some drastic change toward a more loving and accepting outlook. The patient seldom tells an unreceptive doctor about this, however."

When the person's mind changed, the state of their health changed. Hence, the importance of the mind- body connection.

However, just covering up the surface with positive thinking isn't necessarily going to help. It's like cleaning out a house. The dirt and filth has to be removed and the stale air replaced with fresh air. There has to be a fundamental change for real healing to take place. Surface level, 'positive thinking' isn't going to effect this kind of change, just like lightly dusting our homes won't get the real dirt out.

So what are the dirty and stale things in our minds? Well, they could be things like grudges, prejudices, anger, resentment and hate. One spiritual principle from religion talks about "loving your enemy". That can't be done without giving up hate. By giving up something bad, we can make room for something good to come in and may, as a result, see a corresponding change in our bodies.

The problem here is that many of these bad things are buried and hidden and we won't necessarily see them or recognize them in ourselves. We can be certain that they are there though, it is a virtually inevitable consequence of living in a world that is so focused on selfishness and less concerned with "loving" others.

So in order to find these bad things and eliminate them requires introspection, it requires looking at oneself hard and long. However, there is still a problem. When we are searching within our minds, we have to have a standard to do the comparison with. Otherwise, how will we find anything? How will it stand out?

Let's look to one of the greatest thinkers of the Western world, Socrates. What did Socrates do with life? Didn't he teach others about virtue? Interesting, isn't it? One of the most influential people in western thinking emphasized virtue to his students. Socrates talked about things like absolute goodness, beauty and truth.

If someone as great, as well loved and respected as Socrates thought these things were important, perhaps therein lies the key to the mind-body connection. To live a truly healthy and worthwhile life, maybe virtuous thoughts like truth and goodness are what our minds should embrace rather than the negative things modern life finds us clinging too.

Remember what Bernie said, "I find the patient always has made some drastic change toward a more loving and accepting outlook." When we embrace truth and goodness, the beauty of life and this vast universe that we live in becomes evident. That is when we can heal our bodies. Real healing happens in the mind.

This article is for information purposes only, it is not meant to diagnose, prevent or treat any illness or health issue. If you have or think you have a health condition, please visit your primary-care physician immediately.

Do You Have A Healthy Brain? The Secret to Mental Agility

 

 

Do You Have A Healthy Brain? The Secret to Mental AgilityBy Catherine Calder

We all know to exercise our bodies to keep fit, but how often do you think about exercising your brain? And what type of exercise does it need anyway? What are the facts? What is the secret to mental agility?

Keeping mentally active will keep your brain in good shape. Getting older does not mean that you have to be forgetful!

Recent research into Alzheimer's disease found that people who were less active between the ages of 20 and 60 years are almost 4 times more likely to develop the disease. The brain, like the rest of the body, needs to be kept active to keep healthy.

You exercise your body to keep it in shape. Now it has been shown that exercising your brain can keep it in shape too.

That leaves us with the question of what to do to keep our brains active. The research discovered that how you spend your leisure time can affect the health of your brain.

Leisure activities can be divided into -

Passive activities, which include watching TV, participating in social activities, and listening to music.

Intellectual activities are reading, painting, playing a musical instrument, woodworking.

Physical activities, for example, gardening, playing sport, working out at the gym, walking, jogging.

The only 'activity' that the Alzheimer's patients had performed more frequently than the control group was watching TV!

The research team was lead by Robert Friedland, professor of neurology, University Hospitals of Cleveland. He said "A relative increase in the amount of time devoted to intellectual activities from early adulthood (ages 20-39) to mid-adulthood (ages 40-60) was associated with a significant decrease in the probability of having Alzheimer's disease later in life."

An intellectual or physical hobby stimulates the brain and may reduce neurodegeneration as seen in diseases such as Alzheimer's. So sitting watching the TV isn't enough for your brain, you need to keep it active. One way is by learning new things.

Many of the finalists in the Learning in Later Life Campaign 2000 to find England's oldest and most inspiring learners had art and painting as their hobby.

England's Oldest Learner was Fred Moore who was then aged 107 years. Fred continued with art classes until he died at the age of 109. The manager of his residential home said "Fred was a remarkable chap. He kept his memory, going back to the death of Queen Victoria, and always retained his great sense of humor."

So it's official then, learning a new hobby is good for you. Fancy learning to paint? Painting can be done indoors and outdoors, as well as by yourself or in a group.

It is never too late to start. Local night classes offer a range of options. Have a look online too.

Remember you can have a healthy brain and enjoy a hobby too. Don't leave it until tomorrow, begin today!

 


Seven Steps to Good Mental HealthBy Michael Hadfield

 

Psychological well-being is something that we all have a right to. However, for a variety of reasons to do with upbringing, life experiences, physiology, environment and so on... we often find ourselves with a mind-state other than what we desire. Depression, anxiety, and stress seem to be the major obstacles to just feeling good - judging by the number of visits to doctors for help with these problems.

It doesn't really matter what the label is for your particular problem, if you follow the seven steps diligently, there will be an improvement in your general feeling of well being.

The Seven Steps are:

1. Acceptance

2. Releasing guilt

3. Expressing Appreciation

4. Physical exercise

5. Creative activity

6. Right livelihood

7. Meditation

They need to be taken in sequence. Total mastery is not required, but the time to move on is when you feel, or get a sense, that some movement has taken place within your mind. Psychological shifts are felt with a lightness, better sleep, smiling, singing, noticing beauty around you, wanting to do something different, spring cleaning...

Acceptance:

Acceptance is the single most important step to take. Acceptance is giving up being a victim. Acceptance is giving up giving up. Acceptance is a declaration of intent to move forward with life rather than continue to stagnate and blame circumstances or individuals for how things are.

Acceptance is the shift towards accepting that whatever is going on in your life is your responsibility. It is recognising that you are where you are because of the choices you have made in life. And if this means that you have to accept the crazy idea that you made a choice to suffer from a physical illness, then you do just that - accept it. Acceptance is no longer fighting. Once you no longer fight, you no longer resist. Once you no longer resist you can move with the flow.

Every single thing, big or small, good or bad, you simply say to yourself "I accept that this is going on for me right now". You don't have to like it. You don't have to keep it forever. You just have to accept it in the present moment if it's there.

The truth is that it's there whether or not you accept it. So by accepting you are not making things worse, because you've already got it. You are just changing your position in relation to it.

Accept also that the thinking that got you where you are is unlikely to get you out - otherwise it would have already done so. You need to think differently. Acceptance is thinking differently. Acceptance is approaching the problem with wisdom. If you are so frightened you can't go outside without a companion, and even then you are terrified, then just accept that that's the way you are right now. You don't have to understand why you are like that, you just need to acknowledge it. "I am too frightened to go out right now, so I'll stay in"; "I'm really worried about my new boss right now, but that's okay, worry is a natural event in the face of difficult circumstances"; "I feel really depressed, but that's okay, it's just my mind's way of preparing me for change". You can always find something to say to yourself that is accepting.

Releasing Guilt:

Guilt is something we are taught to experience. It is unnatural. Guilt can be experienced in the form: I did something I shouldn't have done and now I feel bad; or I didn't do something I should have done and now I feel bad; either way this is a self-created guilt. Or it can be induced "you should feel bad because..." when you behaved in a way that someone disapproved of; or in the form "well I was planning on going out tonight and I almost never go out with my mates and you go out all the time, but if you really want to go out, then I'll stay in... don't think there's much on telly...".

Whatever you did or didn't do is done or not done. Feeling bad about it can't undo it. This style of guilt is a belief in a Time Machine. It is engaging in fantasy. What is in the past is in the past. Either own up and take the consequences, or don't. Choose which it is to be and then consign the experience to the past where it belongs and shift your attention to the present moment.

Emotional blackmail is the other way guilt is commonly experienced. Just stop playing that game. If you accept responsibility for your own feelings, then you must allow others to do the same. Do what you want to do and as long as you are not physically or psychologically harming others then that's ok. Someone sulking because you are having more fun than them won't do them any harm. When you give in to emotional blackmail you are effectively walking round with a big sign on your back saying - Abuse me, I don't mind.

Expressing Appreciation:

This is one of the most difficult steps to master, so remember mastery is not the goal. The real problem with expressing appreciation is that many people feel uncomfortable when appreciation is expressed for something they have done "it was nothing", "don't mention it", "anyone would have done it".

Let's say you decide to buy a gift for someone you love (not a sexual partner, a friend) just so they know how important they are in your life. You spend a lot of time choosing the gift. You wrap it beautifully and present it to them. They take one look and hand it back. How would you feel? Most people would feel at least a little hurt.

Appreciation is a gift.

Appreciation is a gift of love.

When someone does something for you that you like - let them know. Write an e-mail, send a letter, give a bigger tip, say something more than the ritual "thank you" - "thank you that was nice", "I really enjoyed...", "you are very thoughtful"...

Money is a wonderful way to express appreciation. Buy from those whom you appreciate. Send donations. Offer payment where none is expected.

And as you start to express appreciation more and more in your life you will find one day that when someone offers that gift of appreciation to you, you will not reject it you will accept it with "thanks, that's really nice of you to say".

Physical Exercise:

However much exercise you get you can always increase it. There is much truth in the old adage - A healthy mind in a healthy body.

Exercise is the expression of appreciation for your beautiful body. Your body is such a miraculous creation of God - so complex, so incredibly amazing - that it would be a rejection at the deepest level for you to ignore its physical well-being. It doesn't matter how unfit you are. You can always exercise more than you are doing. Exercise releases endorphins. You feel better after exercise. The benefits are cumulative. It provides more oxygen to the brain, creates more alertness, awakens the immune system and so makes it easier to fight pathogens. But most of all it establishes a discipline and routine that is frequently lacking when mental health is poor. This change alone will improve the situation. Should you have any physical health problems then seek your doctor's advice about exercise.

Creative Activity:

Everyone is a creative being. Stifling our creative outlet leads to poor mental health Our creativity is frequently stifled long before we realise what is happening, and then it seems too late because we believe what we have been told about ourselves. Creativity is about expressing yourself in the world. If you create a simple, badly written story with atrocious spelling and poor grammar, then you have expressed yourself creatively. Your creative works don't have to be seen by others. Others tend to judge, and if you decide to create in an area where others have much greater expertise then your creation will not initially withstand comparison. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't do it.

Photography and gardening have been loves of mine since I was 14. I decided to combine the two interests and my photographs developed a distinctly horticultural slant. At one point I wanted to share them with the world and offered them for sale. It was a while before I made my first sale, and another while before one of my pictures adorned the cover of a magazine. One day I looked back at those first photographs I offered. I felt embarrassed at the poor quality - compared to my later work. But it was only by taking more and more pictures, looking at what was being published, and constantly improving that I achieved my dream of a picture on a magazine cover. But the important thing was that I enjoyed what I was doing. I didn't have to show them to the world. I didn't have to place them in the market for comparison with others who had much greater skill and experience than I. But I did need to take the pictures. It was part of who I was and how I needed to express myself. My pleasure came from the picture taking, looking at the pictures, and constantly seeking ways to become more skilled at my craft.

Express yourself in something that you love to do. Show it only if you want to, but don't stop doing it while you love what you do.

Right Livelihood:

In a way this follows on from the previous step. It is the logical consequence of expressing yourself through what you love to do.

Now lest you are becoming concerned that I might ask you to do something you can't do - like find another job - I never ask anyone to do what they can't do. I might, however, ask you to ask yourself what exactly is it that is stopping you from doing it. At least that way you can move towards an acceptance of the barrier to happiness.

From time to time I ask the people I encounter "If you could be doing anything you wanted to do, would you choose your current livelihood?". I've yet to meet someone who answered 'yes' to that question. Those people are out there. They just don't need to come to see me.

People tend to either hate what they do, but it's all they can get in the way of work; or their work is okay, but they are earning too much money to give it up and do something fun for a living.

Look to how you feel when you get up in the morning on a workday. Is there any excitement or sense of anticipation or looking forward to the challenges of the day ahead? This is a good sign. If there is dread, a wishing for the day to be over, tiredness, or a general lack of enthusiasm - then something needs to change, either the work or the attitude towards it.

Go back to step one and accept whatever it is you are engaged in right now. Accept that you would like to be doing something more fun but that you don't know how to bring about the change, or you are fearful of taking the necessary steps. That's all. As best you can find small pleasures in what you do - even if it's just the appreciation for how the income makes life better than life would be without that income; or appreciation for the good feeling that comes from making a contribution that benefits someone, somewhere.

And then make a list of all the things you love to do.
And then write a fantasy job description for an income-generating job doing each of the things on your list.

Then find a way to do one of the things you love to do for free.

Meditation:

Meditation is a mind/body regenerating exercise. Aim initially for 10 minutes once a day at a regular time and place. If you have such a busy schedule that you haven't got 10 minutes to spare then I'll tell you how you can create 10 minutes out of nothing. But I know you won't do it, because "I haven't got time for 10 minutes meditation every day" is just an excuse to avoid coming face to face with yourself.

There are plenty of books and articles on meditation so I won't go into the technique here. But I would also like you to consider that in part I am suggesting quiet space for you to relax and let go of the busy-ness in your mind for a few minutes on a daily basis. This is a regenerating activity.

It is essential.

It is rejuvenating.

It is the most difficult step, and therefore, it has the capacity to bring about the greatest sense of achievement.

Phobias - The Terror Within

 

Phobias - The Terror Within

By Guy Baglow

 

Phobias are surprisingly easy to acquire and surprisingly easy to lose. And whilst they may seem strange or bizarre, they are quite common and easily explained.

WHAT IT FEELS LIKE TO HAVE A PHOBIA

Most people with a phobia are normal, happy, intelligent and well-balanced.

They have just got this phobia, this thing they feel powerless to do anything to change. So it's very frustrating because a part of them (the rational thinking part) knows that it doesn't make sense, that they are okay and probably quite safe with that thing or in that situation. But they nevertheless find that when they are exposed to that thing or situation, or even just thinking about it, another part of them (the irrational unconscious part) drives out rational thought and anxiety and panic floods in.

Have a can read through the science of phobias to see exactly how and why this happens.

Phobias will often start to affect self-confidence and self-esteem. Sufferers feel they are not understood, that others think they are stupid. And it can make them feel embarrassed and stupid. Like a slur on their sanity.

But phobias are a very human thing. It's to do with the way we are wired. And they rarely go any deeper than that: they are usually just a simple pattern-matching process rather than some dark Freudian psychosexual thing from childhood.

HOW PHOBIAS BEGIN

There are several ways to get a phobia. We may:

Learn it as a child from a parent (typically our mother) because we model their behaviour and thinking styles so strongly.

Suffer a traumatic incident or very emotionally upsetting event.

Learn it vicariously by being traumatized by someone else's trauma. For example, if a survivor of traffic accident recounts their ordeal very vividly, a listener with a very powerful imagination may develop a phobia.

Build it up slowly in our minds. Sometimes there is no specific event that sets up a phobia. Instead, there's a slow build-up of ideas reinforced by a series of small relatively minor incidents. Driving phobia and fear of flying can be slow-builds with something mild (like being stuck in a traffic jam or a bumpy flight) which normally would be okay but at the time the individual was perhaps a little more stressed that normal (background stress levels raised by other things like relationships or work) and this tipped them into a mild panic attack. This builds into a phobia.

At the start, it may take some time for people to recognise that they have a phobia. But then the panic starts to occur more frequently and consistently and a pattern emerges.

It's important to understand that anybody can get a phobia.

HOW PHOBIAS CONTINUE

The response that drives our phobias is our most instinctive survival response - the ancient "fight or flight" response. So when we are in danger we either prepare to stand and fight or to run away.

Sometimes the unconscious mind - which is responsible for survival - overdoes it and gets an idea that a particular things or situation is life-threatening and attaches the fight or flight response to it.

So it attaches feelings of discomfort, anxiety or terror to that object or situation to make the individual avoid it in future, thus keeping them "safe". And it is usually very successful at doing this so the phobic quickly finds themselves engaged in all kinds of avoidance behaviours.

So the phobic response is simply a protection mechanism that got glued to the wrong kind of thing - something that in reality may not be life-threatening at all. In fact, with another part of their mind - the conscious mind - the phobic will have always known this. But that hasn't helped because this isn't about being logical and rational - if it was then no-one would have a phobia.

No, this is about the irrational, illogical and creative unconscious mind which is a great virtual reality simulator - creating monsters in the mind which, of course, do not exist in the real world. Imagining things beyond the realm of probability, possibility or likelihood even.

When the protection mechanism gets glued to the phobic trigger, the unconscious mind creates a very strong pattern around that thing. And after that, whenever it recognizes a match to that thing - and it doesn't have to be a precise match - it will trigger those same feelings of anxiety and panic. This is why phobia tend to spread out and generalize - particularly agoraphobia and claustrophobia - as more a more situations are approximately matched, creating more and more reference templates for "life-threatening " situations. And every time panic occurs it just reinforces the idea the mind has got that this is "dangerous" or "life-threatening". This is why phobias get naturally worse over time rather than better.

SAFETY & AVOIDANCE STRATEGIES

Safety and avoidance behaviours are used by the sufferer to reduce the "threat" and to manage and conceal their distress and embarrassment.

As more and more situations are avoided, the sufferer's world starts to shrink. Resources, time and energy are used in planning and avoiding the particular things or situations around their phobia. Partners and friends may have to be heavily relied upon. Excuses are made to avoid certain activities. Situations and people may be manipulated. Jobs, invitations and trips may be turned down. And there is a loss of freedom and independence as the comfort zone shrinks.

Eventually these "solutions" become part of the problem: the avoidance and control behaviours become the handicap on living. Professional help is often sought as this point.

HOW PHOBIAS ARE CURED: THE FAST PHOBIA CURE

The key to curing phobias is to work with, rather than against the unconscious part of the mind that created the phobia, allowing it to re-evaluate these objects or situations as non-life threatening. And it can be given this opportunity by engaging the very same imagination and creativity that it used to create the phobia in the first place. A bit like a Sumo wrestler using his opponent's own weight to overcome him.

This is what a remarkable treatment called the Fast Phobia Cure does: it allows the mind to review the trigger object or situation from a position of calm detachment so that the thinking mind can go to work on these things and re-evaluate them as non-threatening. This de-conditions the pattern that drove the phobia. So it won't trigger again. The phobia won't work anymore. The cause - the pattern - is gone. And without the cause there are no symptoms.

 

RELATIONSHIP PHOBIAS

 

The Science Of Phobias

Here's how phobias work.

There are two parts to your mind - one that thinks, and one that feels.

The thinking part is the conscious, rational mind that you are using now as you read this.

The feeling part is the unconscious, emotional mind. It takes care of automatic tasks like regulating the heart, controlling pain and managing our instincts.

It's the unconscious mind that is programmed to act instinctively in times of danger. It reacts very fast - making you run or fight - rather than allowing your thinking mind to philosophize while you are attacked by a tiger. This has great survival value.

The unconscious mind is also a very fast learner. The same emergency route that can bypass the rational mind in times of danger can also stamp strong emotional experiences (traumatic ones) in the unconscious mind. This makes evolutionary sense - it ensures that we have vivid imprints of the things that threaten us.

And just as we have two minds, so we have two memory systems: one for the facts and one for the emotions that may or may not go with those facts.

Sometimes, when a person experiences a very traumatic event, the highly emotional memory of the event becomes trapped - locked in the emotional brain - in an area called the amygdala which is the emotional storehouse. There is no chance for the rational mind to process it and save it as an ordinary, non-threatening memory in factual storage (in the hippocampus). Like the memory of what you did last weekend.

Instead, the emotional brain holds onto this unprocessed reaction pattern because it thinks it needs it for survival. And it will trigger it whenever you encounter a situation or object that is anything like the original trauma. It doesn't have to be a precise match.

This is pure survival again. You only need to see part of a tiger through the bushes for the fear reaction to kick in again - for the "fight or flight" response to trigger - you don't have to wait until you see the whole tiger or identify it exactly as the tiger that attacked you before. In fact, it probably only has to be something orange and black moving through the bushes. This is why the pattern matching process is necessarily approximate, or sloppy. You err on the side of safety. You don't have to have all the details to know if something is dangerous.

This is the basis of a phobia: a fear response attached to something that was present in the original trauma. The response is terror, shaking, sweating, heart pounding etc. And because of the sloppy pattern-matching it can get stuck to literally anything - animal, mineral or vegetable. It may not even be glued to the thing that caused the trauma. So a child attacked in a pram by a dog may develop a phobia of prams rather than of dogs.

It is because phobias are created in this way, by our natural psycho-neurology, that they are so common. It's the way we are wired. Approximately 10% of people have a phobia. It's a very human thing. And it's precisely because they are created by the unconscious mind that they seem so irrational. Of course they are - the rational thinking brain hasn't had a chance to go to work on them.

Many traditional phobia treatments, including drugs, attempt to deal with the phobia by calming things down after this response pattern has triggered. They treat the symptoms, not the cause.

To treat the cause, this trapped traumatic memory has to be turned into, and saved as, an ordinary unemotional memory of a past event. The emotional tag, the terror response, needs to be unstuck from that object or situation.

This is exactly what a remarkable therapy called the Fast Phobia Cure does. It allows the phobia sufferer to review the traumatic event or memory from a calm and dissociated, or disconnected, state. The rational mind can then do its work in turning the memory into an ordinary, neutral, non-threatening one. And store it in factual memory where it should have been to start with. This happens very quickly because the mind learns fast. It learns the fear response quickly and it learns (or relearns) the neutral response just as quickly. And when that happens the phobia is gone.

High Blood Pressure - A Sign Of The Modern Age

 

High Blood Pressure - A Sign Of The Modern AgeBy William Hazelhurst

Throughout a large part of the last century the lifestyle of our parents and grandparents was very different to that which we enjoy today. Much of the convenience of modern living was yet to be seen as part and parcel of our normal daily lives and a substantial proportion of the population was engaged in far higher levels of physical work than we see today. The daily diet to support this activity was also very different.

Today, even those of us who are engaged in what we still term as physical work find that much, if not all, of the hard work is now undertaken by machinery. Burning 3,000 or 4,000 calories a day at work is a thing of the past and we are much more likely to find ourselves getting through as little as 1,500 or 2,000 calories in the average day.

At the same time our diet has also changed markedly and, for many, the days of home cooked meals of meat, potatoes and vegetables are a distant memory, replaced now by a wide range of packaged and processed convenience foods and a huge variety of tempting fast food takeaway meals.

It comes as no surprise therefore that we are becoming a society of increasingly overweight individuals and that, alongside this, high blood pressure (or hypertension) has become a major health problem. Some estimates place the number of people suffering from high blood pressure at 600 million worldwide with as many as 1 in 3 of all adults in the US suffering from hypertension. One major problem presented by high blood pressure is the fact that it often shows little or no symptoms, and so about a third of those with the condition don't even know they have it.

High blood pressure is a serious problem which, if left untreated can lead to a heart attack, heart failure or a stroke. In addition, hypertension can cause kidney problems and, in some instances, even result in blindness.

Fortunately, high blood pressure is both very simple to detect and can be treated and controlled with medication and, more importantly, with some simple changes to your lifestyle.

The first port of call should be your doctor, who can check your blood pressure for you in a matter of seconds. As an alternative, you can even check your own blood pressure and a variety of easy to use and relatively inexpensive monitors can be purchased for use at home. For many people today this represents an excellent investment, allowing them to keep a regular check on their blood pressure without having to keep popping along to their local surgery.

If your blood pressure starts to creep up above the generally accepted normal level, then start by looking at your lifestyle and try making a few simple adjustments in the first instance.

If you're overweight then try losing a few pounds. If you're eating a lot of canned and processed foods then try cutting down on these and add fruit, vegetables, whole grain foods and fish to your diet. If you enjoy alcohol, then try cutting down to just the occasional drink once or twice a week. If you smoke, then try giving up altogether.

More often than not these, and similar, lifestyle changes will be all that is needed to bring your blood pressure back down to normal levels. If this doesn't do the trick, however, then call in and have a chat with your doctor who will probably prescribe a course of medication to run alongside your change in lifestyle.

Many thousands of people die needlessly every year as a result of high blood pressure. Detection and cure of this growing problem has, however, never been easier so, if you're at all concerned, have your blood pressure checked today and don't add to this growing statistic.

 

 

Hypertension; Facts You NeedBy Kazeem Adefemi

WHAT IS HYPERTENSION?

Hypertension is derived from two root words; Hyper meaning High and Tension meaning Pressure. Hypertension simply means high blood pressure. Pressure is the force generated when the heart contracts and pump blood through the blood vessels that conduct the blood to various parts of the blood.
Although hypertension does not mean or result from excessive emotional tension, but evidence shows that stress and emotional tension do cause increase in blood pressure, and if continuous, could be sustained.
High blood pressure is therefore generally defined as a blood pressure exceeding 140/90mmHg confirmed on multiple occasions. The top number (140) is called the SYSTOLIC PRESSURE, and it represents the pressure in the blood vessels (arteries) as the heart contracts and pump blood into circulation. The bottom number (90) is called DIASTOLIC PRESSURE, and it represents the pressure in the blood vessels as the heart relaxes after contraction. These figures measured in millimeters of Mercury (mmHg) reflect the highest and lowest pressures the heart and blood vessels are exposed to during circulation. The generally accepted normal value for blood pressure is 120/80mmHg. Above this value but less than 140/90mmHg is not considered to be hypertensive yet but signals danger, it is therefore called High normal.

An elevation of the blood pressure (Hypertension) increases the risk of developing Heart (Cardiac) diseases such as Heart Failure and Heart attack, Kidney diseases, Vascular diseases like athelosclerosis (hardening and narrowing of blood vessels), Eye damage and Stroke (brain damage).
These complications called End organ damage arise as a result of long standing (chronic) hypertension. But victims of hypertension are not aware, at an early stage, that they have the disease, until these complications start appearing. This is because hypertension shows virtually no signs/symptoms at the early stage. For this reason, it is generally referred to as the 'Silent Killer'.

The damage caused by hypertension increases in severity as the blood pressure increases. Based on this hypertension can be classified as follows:

CATEGORY SYSTOLIC(mmHg) DIASTOLIC(mmHg)
Normal Less than 130 Less than 85
High Normal 130 - 139 85 - 89
Mild Hypertension 140 - 159 90 - 99
Moderate Hypertension 160 - 179 100 - 109
Severe Hypertension 180 - 209 110 - 119
Very Severe Hypertension Greater than 210 Greater than 120

BORDERLINE HYPERTENSION

Borderline Hypertension is defined as mildly elevated blood pressure that is found to be higher than 140/90mmHg at some times and lower than that at other times.

Patients with borderline value need to have their blood pressure monitored more frequently. They also need to assess end organ damage to be aware of the significance of their hypertension.

It should, however, be emphasized that patients with borderline hypertension have a higher tendency to develop a more sustained hypertension as they get older. They stand a modest risk of having heart related diseases. A close monitoring of their blood pressure and lifestyles could be very useful in this regard.

WHITE COAT HYPERTENSION

A single elevated blood pressure reading in the doctor's office could be misleading, because the elevation might only be temporary. Evidence over the years has shown that anxiety related to the stress of the examination and fear of the result often result in blood pressure elevation noticed in the doctor's office only. Infact, it has been suggested that one out of every four persons thought to have mild hypertension, actually may have normal blood pressure outside the physician's office. This sort of elevated blood pressure noticed in the physician's office is called 'White Coat Hypertension'. Suggesting that the white coat, symbolic of the physician, induces the patient's anxiety and a passing increase in blood pressure. Accordingly, monitoring of blood pressure at home, when in a more relaxed state of mind, can provide a more reliable estimate of the frequency and/or consistency of blood pressure changes.

WHAT CAUSES HYPERTENSION?

The Blood pressure is determined by two major parameters; Cardiac output i.e. the volume of blood pumped by the heart, and the Total peripheral resistance i.e. the resistance of the blood vessels through which blood flows. Hypertension is therefore an end result of either increased force of pumping by the heart, or constriction/narrowing of blood vessels causing increased resistance to blood flow or both.
Using the cause of hypertension as a yardstick, two major types of hypertension can be described;

Essential Hypertension

Secondary hypertension

The former also called Primary or Idiopathic hypertension is by far the most prevalent type of hypertension. It accounts for over 90% of all hypertension cases. No clear cut cause(s) can be identified for this type of accommodation, hence the name Idiopathic.

The later accounts for less than 10% of all cases. In this case, the hypertension is secondary to an existing abnormality in one or more systems or organs of the body. The most common causes are related to kidney and hormonal problems. The persistent uncontrolled use of contraceptives, especially in females over 35years of age fall under hormonal causes of hypertension.

Since no clear-cut cause(s) can be adduce for the most common types of hypertension, as with the case with most non-communicable diseases, we therefore talk in terms of 'Risk Factors' and not causes. These Risk Factors are actions/inactions that increases chances of getting a disease. Several researches over the years have shown that some factors are directly or indirectly related to the occurrence of hypertension. Some of the factors include:

HEREDITARY: High blood pressure tends to run in some families and races. It is believed that some inherited traits predispose some people to hypertension. For example, high blood pressure tends to be more prevalent in blacks than whites.

A family history of hypertension increases one chances of high blood pressure. Regular monitoring of blood pressure becomes very vital.
HIGH SALT INTAKE: High intake of Sodium Chloride (table salt) has being linked to high blood pressure. The condition develops mostly in societies or communities that have a fairly high intake of salt, exceeding 5.8grams daily. In fact, salt intake may be a particularly important factor in relation to essential hypertension that is associated with advancing age, black racial background, hereditary susceptibility, obesity and kidney failure. Research has shown that:

a. Rise in blood pressure with age is directly related to increase level of sat intake, especially in blacks.

b. People who consume little sodium chloride develop no high blood pressure when they consume more, hypertension appears.

c. Increased Sodium is found in the blood vessels and blood of most hypertensives.

Cutting down on salt intake is therefore a reasonable step in preventing hypertension

OBESITY:

A close relationship exists between hypertension and obesity. In fact it is believed that most hypertensives are more than 10% overweight. Fat accumulation in the trunk or abdomen is not only related to hypertension but also to diabetes and hyperlipideamia (excess fat in the body). Obesity can contribute to hypertension in several ways. For one thing, obesity leads to a greater output of blood, because the heart has to pump more blood to supply the excess tissues. The increased cardiac output then can raise the blood pressure. For another thing, obese hypertensive individuals have a greater stiffness (resistance) in the peripheral arteries throughout the body. Finally, obesity may be associated with a tendency for the kidneys to retain salt in the body. Weight loss may help reverse problems related to obesity while also lowering blood pressure. It has been estimated that the blood pressure can be decreased 0.32mmHg for every 1kg (2.2pounds) of weight loss.

The International standard for measuring overweight and obesity is based on a value called BODY MASS INDEX (BMI). This value is derived by dividing the body weight (in Kilograms) by the square of height (in Metres).

i.e. BMI = Body weight (Kg)

Height2 (Metres).
Note: 1ft = 0.305metres.
For adults, a BMI less than 25kg/m2 is preferred.
25 - 29kg/m2 is considered overweight and above 30kg/m2 is Obesity.

LACK OF EXERCISE:

Sedentary normal individuals have a 20 - 50% higher risk of developing hypertension when compared to very active individuals. Exercise lowers both systolic and diastolic blood pressures. For example dynamic exercises such as brisk walking or jogging, swimming or bicycle ridding for 30 - 45mins daily or 3-5times a week may lower blood pressure by as much as 5 - 15mmHg. Moreover, there appears to be a relationship between the amount of exercise and the degree to which blood pressure is lowered. Thus, to a point, the more you exercise, the more you lower your blood pressure. Provided you do not over strain yourself. Normally, a particularly type of exercise is started, and gradually built up to a satisfactory level over time. Regular exercise reduces blood pressure, burn out unnecessarily fat and also makes the body healthier.

ALCOHOL AND SMOKING:

These two constitute the social factors most related to high blood pressure. People who drink alcohol excessively (over two drinks per day) have a one and half to two times increase in the frequency of hypertension. The association between alcohol and high blood pressure becomes particularly noticeable when the alcohol intake exceeds the above per day. Moreover, the connection is a dose related phenomenon. In other words, the more alcohol consumed, the stronger the chances of hypertension. This, probably will explain the prevalence of hypertension in populations where alcohol consumption is a habit.

Although smoking increases the risk of vascular complications (for example, heart diseases and stroke) in people who already have hypertension, it cannot be directly linked with increase in the development of hypertension. Nevertheless, smoking a cigarette can repeatedly produce an immediate, temporary rise in blood pressure of 5 - 10mmHg, but a permanent increase cannot be established. However, it is known that some substances in cigarette, e.g. nicotine, alters the composition of the blood and also affects the blood vessels.

Smoking and alcohol control are integral part of any effort towards the primary control of cardiovascular diseases in any population.
STRESS: Although the role of stress and other emotional factors in hypertension is difficult to define. However, it is known that stress causes a physiological rise in blood pressure and this could be sustained if the stress becomes chronic (prolonged).

A STICH IN TIME

Since lifestyle components such as dietary patterns, obesity, physical activity, alcohol and smoking have been recognized as important risk factors, steps to reduce the occurrence of hypertension or to alleviate the condition (for those who are hypertensives) should involve lifestyle modification.

Dietary modifications include restricting salt intake cutting down or cutting out alcohol, reduced fat consumption, and reducing weight if overweight. The American Heart Association recommends a daily consumption of less than 6grams of table salt for normal individuals, and less than 4grams for hypertensives.

A regular exercise program such as brisk walking, jogging, swimming, cycling e.t.c.
for 30 - 45mins daily or 3-5 times a week could be very helpful.

Conclusively, it is very important to remember that the only way to know if one's blood pressure is on the high side is by taking your blood pressure frequently. Normally, your doctor would do that for you. But for a more consistent and reliable monitor of blood pressure, a self-operated blood pressure monitor is crucial. Being very handy and always around, it allows you to follow up your blood pressure regularly and report an increase immediately.