Be still my beating heart.....

The mother and child are intrinsically connected even before birth; the baby's heart beat beats along with its mother. This continues after birth when there is face to face contact with not just the mother but also the father. Just from sensing the breath and the rhythm, the heartbeats become synchronised. The ability of the baby to do this is critical; it lowers cortisol levels in the body, enable the child to feel safe and then later in life help them to form loving connections with others.

So it follows that if the bond is broken at birth for some reason due to perhaps separation, premature birth, mother's depression or anxiety, it is likely to have a massive impact on that adult's ability to deal with rejection, anger, acceptance, separation, love and trust. What this shows how sensitive the heart is and that stressed children are very likely to become stressed adults.

If you have these traits you are likely to send your nervous system into overload practically all the time. Researchers found even those who were worriers or felt hopeless were at greater risk of not just heart problems but also depression. Many feeling that depressive traits or even just mild depression itself would lead to heart issues. They found that when introverts were given tasks to complete, even though they were more thoughtful their hearts rhythms were more stressed.

Stress at work has become a real issue in the 21st Century. Many of us may have experienced this or will know of someone who has had 'Burnout' ( emotional and mental breakdown, physical fatigue and exhaustion) often occurring when a job is perpetually stressful and the pressure is relentless. Dutch researchers recently found that air craft controllers at busy airports had higher blood pressure and faster heart rates than those working at smaller airports. Your job stress can therefore cause long term damage overall health and longevity.

This is often the stuff of legends and TV weepies; one evening a man in his 50's is brought to hospital having died suddenly of a heart attack in front of his wife. A few days later she is admitted with very similar symptoms. She recovers and goes home, although her symptoms were similar she has no long lasting damage. Doctors claim that this phenomenon often occurs after a sudden shock and is different from the ongoing stress looked at earlier.
What appears to be happening is that the shock sends such a surge of adrenaline that the tiny blood vessels are damaged forcing the heart to shut down.

Walk away from a situation, marriage or relationship that is constantly in conflict
Quit a boring or stressful job especially if your employers do not practice the duty of care towards its employees and remember if you blow a gasket your workplace will replace you tomorrow but your family cannot replace you

Resolve and express your anger
Release your anger or pent up emotions - run round the park
Do something every day that's just about you - go for a walk, meditate, talk to good friends, do yoga,
Treat even mild depression by exercise, having counselling, eating well having and creating loving connections with others
Teach your children to deal with their fears and hurts rather than burying their emotions
These small steps could save your life