You Can Actually Die From a Broken Heart

“Broken Heart Syndrome” also known as Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy or Stress Cardiomyopathy may sound like your run-of-the-mill anxiety attack or some form of psychological illness.  However, Broken Heart Syndrome has real, even fatal, consequences.

You may have heard stories where one person dies and their spouse, devastated and lost, soon follows.  The failing health of lifelong partners may not be a coincidence.   It could be from a real life broken heart.  In about 2% of the heart attacks presented, it is actually Broken Heart Syndrome which is characterized by an enlarged and weakened left ventricle.    Symptoms include those of a classic heart attack such as chest pain, arm pain, crushing pain, feelings of despair or doom and shortness of breath.  It is important if you have any chest pain that you call 911 or go to the emergency room immediately.

What makes Stress Cardiomyopathy different from a heart attack?  With a heart attack, upon examination, one or more arteries are clogged or restricted.  With Broken Heart Syndrome, the arteries are clear, but the symptoms remain.  Additionally, the left ventricle becomes uncharacteristically ballooned as well as weakened.  The ballooning resembles octopus traps used in Japan and that’s where the name “Takotsubo” is derived.  It means, literally, “octopus trap.”

Irregular heart on the left...

Octopus traps in Japan...

Stress Cardiomyopathy can result from sudden trauma, extreme stress, a breakup or the death of a loved one.  Ninety percent of the cases are in women.  Eight percent of the cases result in death.  Normally, the condition will resolve itself within four weeks without medications, but in some instances, beta-blockers may be used.

The ache of loss may simply be emotional pain, but in some rare instances an ache in the chest may actually be the pain of a real broken heart.

Our Meditation Posture:
Why do we meditate in a particular posture?  Partially it has to do
with tradition.  But even the tradition comes from a place of
achieving the highest benefit.  When we sit tall and cross legged, the
blood flow and nerve centers of our bodies are lined up in the most
beneficial way.  We are "open" and comfortable even though after about
15 minutes it might not seem that way!  Don't worry.  No one ever lost
a leg in meditation due to decreased circulation.  Palms facing up on
your knees is a "receiving" position and palms down is a more closed
or internal position.  Of course, my meditation instructor, Larry, is
a quadriplegic, so none of those rules count for him, yet he seems to
enjoy and benefit greatly from meditation.   Sometimes you may see
someone wrapped in a blanket or shawl when they meditate.  This could
be because the meditation room is chilly or because the person is
turning inward.  Most of our day, we are looking outward at the world.
 We receive information, make conclusions, make judgments etc.  To
turn the eye inward is much more challenging!

So why keep the eyes open or partially open?
When we meditate, we begin to gain clarity and insight about ourselves
and the world.  If we close our eyes we begin to be conditioned that
we can only have that insight when our eyes are closed.  If we train
ourselves to meditate with our eyes partially open, we can begin to
use these new insights and skills even during our regular work day
instead of reserving it for our cushion.

How long is long enough?
Numerous studies have shown that meditation even for as little as 12
minutes a day, can be highly beneficial for stress reduction and peace
of mind.

What is Meditation?

It feels like such a complicated question now that I know more about
it.  When I first started a meditation practice about 12 years ago, I
went with a friend to Great Lakes Buddhist Center in Southfield,
Michigan and we got a cushion out of the closet, sat down on the floor
in the basement of a house where about six monks lived and practiced.
I closed my eyes and for 45 minutes, tried not to fidget too much even
though my leg fell asleep, my back hurt, I was annoyed, angry and
impatient.  But for some reason I kept going back.

Meditation is the practice of inducing a type of consciousness in your
own mind for some type of benefit.  Whether it is relaxation, a form
of prayer or simply a quiet time to ponder your existence, the
scientific research is more and more conclusive that its benefits are
many.  From weight loss to opening new neurological pathways, though
it is mysterious and we don't know why, somehow it makes us better.
Countless types of meditation exist.  I practice what is called
Samadhi meditation.  It is "concentrated" meditation.  Sometimes I
practice Shamatha (calm abiding) meditation, sometimes I focus on a
particular topic such as compassion, contentment or hope for those in
need.  Sometimes, I sit on my cushion and can not meditate at all, get
frustrated and wonder why I can't "calm my mind."

If you are just starting out, you may wish to consider simply sitting
for five minutes and focusing on the breath.  There are numerous
varieties of meditation practices.  I can share some of the common
elements of most of the ones I have done in the past.
1. Sit upright on a cushion, pillow or folded blanket with your legs
lightly crossed.
2. Imagine a string pulling the crown of your head straight upward so
that the crown of your head faces the ceiling and your spine is long
and straight.  Chin slightly, almost imperceptibly tucked in toward
your chest.
3. Lightly rest your hands palm down on your thighs and not your
knees. (We tend to GRIP our knees)
4. Close your eyes if you are a beginner or close only your lashes
together if you are more advanced.  Or if you wish to not have to
unlearn closing your eyes, simply close your lashed together allowing
light and shapes to appear.  But do not focus on them.  I will tell
you why later.
5. Breathe in through the nose and out through the nose in smooth even
breaths.
6. When you feel your mind wander, come back to the breath.  "Not
thinking" is not possible, but directing your thinking is.  When your
minds wanders away, gently bring it back without anger or frustration.
 As you breathe in, grow taller and straighter.  As you breathe out,
relax the mind .

Here is a link to an interesting article from NPR about meditation:
Meditation Story Neuro Pathways

MEETING A HERO

I have always ADORED, Mike Dooley, author of The Notes From the Universe.  Mike is also the author of many books and the leader of his Adventurer’s Club, all of which are dreams come true to me.  All of it.  Mike Dooley was also one of the teachers in The Secret.  He’s the bald fellow with a dynamic personality.

Two years ago, I said, “I’m going to meet Mike Dooley.”  Last year, he came into town for a book signing and I was able to do just that.  It was awesome.  He’s great.  He’s fun and smart—two of my favorite things.

This year, he actually came for his World Tour III and to promote his book, Manifesting Change.

Tickets were pretty pricey, I'll admit.  I definitely wanted to attend the private smaller party the night before the seminar because I was hoping to meet Mike and have an opportunity to talk to him a little. 

I am so glad I went!  The pre-party the night before was amazing.  Mike answered questions and spoke to each of us individually even if just for a short period of time.  We talked about manifesting and how the process works.  We talked about some personal challenges and how that fits into manifestation.  Mike mentioned that he liked Colorado a lot and had considered a move here and also a move into politics.  How cool is that?

We had a group photo taken:

The next day, it was appropriate that we would discuss "Playing the Matrix", Mike's answer as to how to set and achieve goals.  This is especially useful because it was January and the perfect time for goal setting for 2011. 

I can't give away any secrets regarding the Matrix, but I highly recommend that you attend Mike's events if you have the chance.

I had a big couple of weeks!  The weekend of January 7th, I started on my path with Shambhala.  That is to say, I took their Shambhala Level One Training, The Art of Being Human.  I was taking an additional class at the time, Contentment in Everyday Life, which means that I was at Shambhala (Denver, not the Mountain Center) each day from Friday to Monday.

The lengthy days of meditation challenged me.  I have a twice daily practice, but it is measured in minutes, not hours.  The mind goes places you don’t expect when sitting on a cushion for 6 or 7 hours.  It truly is an odyssey.  I can attempt to describe it here:

The instruction is to focus on the breath while sitting in a good meditation posture.  Not just to focus on the breath but to focus using a certain method that begins to train the mind.  As thoughts come up, label them as such and move on.

I started with concerns about my feet falling asleep and my shoulders hurting.  And they did, but about mid-day on Saturday, the physical sensations became the least of my concerns.  My mind was wild.  Sometimes in Buddhism, it is described as a monkey mind and if a wild mind is a monkey mind, mine was a barrel full of monkeys.  I either could not focus my mind for more than a few seconds at a time or my mind would bring up outrageous thoughts that made no sense.  Just as I finished labeling the thought as “thinking” another popped up.

“Thinking. Thinking. Thinking.. .”

Then it got even more interesting.  Some things I did in the past popped into my mind and I saw how these behaviors were delusions that clouded my thoughts and my emotions.  Your mind remembers even the things you thought you forgot.

Then there were overwhelming feelings of love for friends and family who I value deeply.  I also felt compassion for the people who drive me most insane in life.

Talk about being all over the place.  By the end of Saturday, I was completely wasted.  When my husband asked me how it was, “It was different,” was all I could say.

Sunday felt a little brighter until the monkeys came out to play again.

“Thinking.  Thinking.  Thinking.”

And I completely gave up by 11am and then by 11:05 was recommitted to my meditation practice.  At 11:30, I was looking for a way to weave out of the maze of cushions and save myself from certain insanity and by 11:40, I was falling asleep.
At 11:50 I vowed to focus my mind like a good meditator and when I left the center at 1pm, I thought, “I won’t be doing that again anytime soon.”

So, I went to my class on Monday night, because I just love it.  

By Tuesday morning, I was looking for the next course to sign up for at the center only to find that almost none of the times worked in my schedule.  Not until MAY.  Disappointment.  What seemed like a difficult weekend ended up being one of the greatest experiences I have ever had.  It reminded me of climbing my first 14er, Mt. Bierstadt, and on my way down, I said to my hiking buddy, ‘I won’t be doing that again.”  The next day I made a list of my next three fourteeners.

So maybe it’s not just about how easy or fun something is, but it is definitely about the journey.  In my case, The Path, whether it is up the side of a mountain or a trip around the mind—the greatest of journeys.  


Next Blog:  Meeting a hero.

Are you eating before your stomach growls?  Do you turn to high fat, high carb foods to comfort yourself when you are down or stressed?  Do you sometimes realize you're eating only after you have consumed a few handfuls of food?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, you may be eating emotionally.  Emotional eating is common and can derail any weight loss plan.  You probably know if you are an emotional or "stress" eater.  Most individuals suffering from a weight problem have some level of uncontrolled emotional eating.  It makes sense, if you think about it, that we would develop a pattern of comforting ourselves with food.  Since the moment we are born, we are comforted by food through nursing or a bottle and then we proceeded to fall asleep on a full stomach!  That's fine for an infant, but unhealthy for an adult.

How do we break a cycle that has existed since birth?

It starts with creating a dialog with yourself.  Pause before you put anything other than water into your mouth and ask yourself "Why do I want to eat this?"  If the answer is anything other than, "I'm hungry" then your motives should be examined.  I am a firm believer that you can not "break" a habit, you can only replace it.  It will be up to you to find other ways to comfort yourself when you are in need.  Here are some suggestions:

• exercise
• meditate
• talk on the phone to a friend
• pray
  
• ask for support from a spouse or child
• do your favorite hobby
• exercise
  
• play a game
• use a journal
• hug your partner
• go for a drive
• clean the house
• exercise
• go for a walk

Whatever your new habit might be, make sure it is something that supports your goal.  Try a few different things until you find the solution.  Nothing is 100% but you can make a lot of progress by implementing these changes.

I remember when my husband and I quit smoking.  Every time we had a cigarette craving, we would take the dogs for a walk.  We have two Jack Russell Terriers and I remember the day that they looked at us like, "Really?  Do we have to go AGAIN?" We walked three or four times a day and we successfully quit smoking.  We now walk the dogs every single night after dinner and we consider this our special family time together.  The colder it is, the faster we walk, so it is beneficial all around.

You must be the change.

Love and Light,
Coach Kristine

Making Mistakes

Sometimes we screw up.  It’s unavoidable but it does not have to become crippling or completely derail our goals.  The question is not, “When will I screw up?” The question is, “What will I do when I screw up?”  A couple of things are important to remember when recovering from a mistake:

1.   Get back on track ASAP.  
2.   Don’t beat yourself up.
3.   Learn from your mistakes.

If you recover quickly from a mistake, you won’t feel so bad about it.  It’s difficult to have regret when you do the right thing.  When it comes to health, sometimes a workout is missed, sometimes a birthday cake represents irresistible temptation.  Simply, move on.

Remember that self-talk shapes our self-esteem.  If you tell yourself that you are a bad person for missing a workout or for spending a little extra cash or losing your temper, it wears away.  I like to say that I am like an M&M.  Crunchy on the outside, and soft and melty on the inside.  I think most people have an interior person and exterior.  When you have negative talk, the exterior wears away and the melty part becomes threatened.

Lastly, doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result defines insanity.  Learn from your mistakes.  Learn your shortcomings and compensate for them.  You can’t drive through the fast food lane daily and then expect to see good news on the scale.  You can’t sit on the couch and wish a heart condition to go away.

Take action!

Rehabilitating Your Word

 

Part of starting a new routine is rehabilitating your word.  See, we tell ourselves we will do something and then we so often break the promise that we no longer believe our own word!

 

• I will work out
• I will eat healthier
• I will save money
• I will stop yelling
• I will clean my office
• I will make a change

 

And then, the first chance we get to have an excuse to not do what we say, we take it!  It must be human nature because so many of us do the same thing.

 

So how can we fix it? 

 

Start by making a list.  It can be a hundred or so things from big to small.  Anything from making a budget to taking out the trash.  Then, make it a goal to check five things of your list each day.  No repeats!  Just do five things on the list each day.  This teaches you that you are good to your word (plus it gets a lot done).  Don’t save all the hard ones for last.

 

Secondly, set realistic goals that you can stick with.  If you say you will work out 30 minutes a day, don’t only do 20 minutes!  Do the full 30.  In your mind,  it is only a success or failure.  Not a “I sort of did it.”

 

Lastly, just do it!  Make every day a day of accomplishing your top five most important things and make your health one of them!  It takes so much energy to make excuses, it is better just to get the job done and conserve your precious energy for constructive purposes.

 

What are your top five most important things?  Remember, you will not do anyone any good if you’re not here.  Create longevity and quality of life!

Love and Light,

Coach Kristine

I often hear heartbreaking words, but they are never more upsetting that when I hear someone saying such words to and about themselves.

What we say to privately to ourselves shapes our self-esteem.  Speak negatively and after awhile, the words you say appear to be the truth.   Speak positively and the words will reflect in your attitude.

Start to eliminate such terms as:

•   I can’t
•   I’m not good enough
•   I have failed in the past
•   It’s too hard

Begin to use terms such as:

•   I do my best
•   I improve regularly
•   I’m successful
•   I can
•   I did it

When thinking of yourself, begin to think more kindly.  Become aware of your outstanding qualities and minimize your shortcomings.  Remember, we are all a work in progress and even small steps in the right direction will eventually lead you to your goal.  

Never say anything to yourself that you would not say to another person.

Love and Light,
Coach Kristine

When talking about relationships, being on a merry go round is no fun at all. It seems the same issues resurface over and over again.  Acting in the same way we always do, gets us the same result we have always gotten.  In order to get a different result, we have to consider a new way to approach old topics.

Here is an example:

I know a married couple who has the same argument over and over again and each time, they say similar things to one another, have similar blow ups and feel similar feelings.  The situation is never resolved and resurfaces every few months.  Bitterness increases.

Another example:

A father attempts to control his son's future by telling him exactly how he should live his life up to and including who he should date, where he should live and how he should act.  The son responds each time with more and more rebellion and their relationship slowly deteriorates.  The father wonders why.

The first step in changing these negative behaviors is to acknowledge that they exist.  Where in your life do you have the cyclical experiences?  Identify them and resist the urge to blame others for the outcome.  Take responsibility and decide to create a new, more positive behavior instead.

In the case of the married couple, perhaps restraining emotion and coming to a compromise that is suitable for both people would be an option.  When you present your case to your mate, use the positive outcome to negotiate.  "Let's not have this same argument again and again.  I am willing to compromise if you are."

In the case of the controlling father, it is time to realize that the son needs to have the freedom to make individual choices.  Let him know that you are there if he ever feels he needs advice and then respect his freedom.  He will care more about your opinion if it is not forced down his throat.

• Acknowledge when a situation comes up that has happened before
• Recognize negative patterns
• Role play new, more positive responses in your mind
• Ask the person with whom this behavior occurs for their opinion on a new way to handle the situation
• Realize that being right does not mean you win
• Apply the new responses in order to get a different outcome

Learn how to replace negative reactions with productive responses using Heart Centered Coaching.  Call today for a consultation. 720-234-0709

Love and Light,
Coach Kristine