Lehigh Valley Hospital: When It Matters Most
lvh.org home page Careers at LVH Education @ LVH For Professionals working with LVH
Find a Doctor
Health Care Services
Patients & Visitors
Quality Results
Healthy You
Community
Classes & Events
Health Encyclopedia
Research
Giving to LVH
LVH News

Healthy You Archives
Heart of Healthy You
Home > Healthy You > Healthy You Magazine > Heart of Healthy You > Exercising Your ‘Emotional Heart’

Exercising Your ‘Emotional Heart’

It’s just as important as caring for your physical heart

HeartIt’s just as important as caring for your physical heart, says social worker Janet McKinnon of the Dr. Dean Ornish Program at Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network. “We need to give ourselves time to open up and express our feelings,” she says. Research shows that stifling feelings can negatively affect your heart—there’s a proven link between heart disease and depression or anger.

The best “treatment” is to get your worries off your chest:

  • Identify friends and family you can talk to, who’ll listen and not judge you. (Or, call 610-402-CARE to find a counselor.)
  • Set aside time with these friends to talk together. Make regular “tea time” appointments.
  • Open conversations with “I feel.” Talk about how you’re feeling (hurt, angry, excited, etc.) and why.
  • Reciprocate, allowing them to talk about their feelings. This will help their heart health, too.
Want to Know More about the Ornish program? It combines exercise, stress management, group support and a low-fat, whole-foods diet to reduce your risk for heart disease. For a program brochure, call 610-402-CARE or click here for more information.

This page last updated 2/12/08 04:08 PM
ARTICLE TOOLS:

email this article to a friend print this article    Del.icio.us   Stumble It!

May June 2005

Eating Healthy
Staying Fit
Caring for Mind and Body
Just for Women
Just for Men
Raising a Family
Heart of Healthy You
Protecting Your Health
Coping with Illness
Aging Well
Keeping Up to Date
    Weight Control





      hon cod ©2008 Lehigh Valley Hospital and Health Network
      LVH Info Line: 610-402-CARE
      Cedar Crest & I-78, P.O. Box 689, Allentown, PA 18105-1556

      Lehigh Valley Hospital has campuses in Allentown and Bethlehem, Pa. and serves the Pennsylvania communities of Easton, Doylestown, Quakertown, Hazelton, Lehighton, Perkasie, Pottstown, Pottsville, Reading, Scranton, Wilkes Barre, Stroudsburg, and the Poconos and also Phillipsburg and Flemington, N.J., and western New Jersey. You don't have to travel to Philadelphia or New York for quality health care.

      		 
      Increase the Size of Text by clicking here. Descrease the Size of Text by clicking here Email this story to family and friends. Print this story formatted for your printer.