Many factors play a huge role in your heart’s health. Maintaining a healthy diet and exercise routine, along with avoiding drugs and alcohol, is often discussed when speaking of ways to keep your heart healthy. One of the lesser-known elements of having great heart health is accounting for stress and anxiety. In many instances, personalities can be split into a Type A or Type B personality.
Type A and Type B Personality
Type A people are usually characterized as perfectionists who are hard-working or controlling. Typically, people who are Type A are more competitive, intense, assertive, or aggressive. This personality type usually thrives in business or the workplace.
Type A personalities can often feel a sense of urgency, seeming to always be racing the clock. People with a Type A personality can get easily frustrated, angry, or even hostile. At their worst, these individuals may display signs of anger, envy, or a lack of compassion. This hostile or aggressive energy can be linked to heart disease.
Type B personalities are often less irritable and more laid back. Type B personalities are more common and usually not as quick to anger, stress, or hostility as Type A personalities. Type A personalities might be more prone to stress and anxiety.
Stress and Heart Health
No matter what your personality type is, if you are someone who deals with anxiety, you are more prone to being irritable or stressed. According to the CDC, people who experience depression, anxiety, stress, and PTSD for an extended period of time are at a higher risk for build-up in arteries that leads to heart disease.
The Link Between Stress and Heart Disease
Stress is a normal part of life, and for some situations, it is essential. Stress can come from so many different things, including everyday obligations, not getting enough sleep, peer pressure, money troubles, or the death of a loved one, which is why it’s important to pinpoint the source.
The body’s response to stress is in place to protect you, but too much stress can be deemed dangerous for the mind and body. Every time you feel stressed, your body releases cortisol, which is okay in small doses. When you are highly stressed for long periods, the increase in cortisol can lead to increased levels of blood cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure.
This is extremely unhealthy and can build plaque in the arteries, potentially causing heart disease. Even on a smaller level, minor stress can lead to poor blood flow to the heart. If the heart isn’t getting enough blood or oxygen, bigger issues like blood clots can arise. If you find yourself constantly anxious, afraid, worried, or stressed, you must find a way to manage your thoughts. Managing your thoughts is not only good for your mental health, but in the long run, your body will also appreciate it.
Why Does My Personality Matter?
Every personality matters, but the ones that leave people more prone to stress, anxiety, and worry should be more heavily managed. People with Type A personalities make great leaders and are valuable members of the workplace, team, or group that the rest of the group refuses to lose. Their relentless energy helps a business to excel or a team to win a championship.
Unfortunately, there is a downside to this energy, and most of it is internal. The same thing that can drive a person to be great could potentially be working to hurt them. The fear or hate of failure or the worry of not getting the job done can cause a lot of stress.
The same stress that can lead to someone being on top can also cause a stroke or heart attack. This doesn’t mean that those who are great leaders automatically have heart problems; instead, it means that you need to understand that your thoughts and monitor your actions in preventative efforts to maintain your health.
Stress and Anxiety Management
The first big step in managing your stress and anxiety is awareness. That feeling you get when your heart is racing, and you’re short of breath can be overwhelming, especially when you don’t know what’s causing it. Those feelings are the body’s natural response to stress.
Take time out throughout your day to understand your triggers. Things like the first day at a new job, making a presentation in front of a lot of people, or simply just meeting new people can trigger your stress or anxiety. Everyone has their own set of triggers, and identifying yours is the most important step to coping with anxiety and stress.
Self-reflection can help you identify your triggers. Start journaling your daily experiences and then read over them each week. Outlining your experiences can pinpoint your feelings and work as a blueprint for maneuvering around the things that worry you.
Stress and anxiety are something that everyone deals with, regardless of their personality. Although there are different levels of stress and anxiety, monitoring your daily thought and feelings won’t hurt when trying to minimize their impact on your daily life. Sometimes stress can be too much to manage, and it can prevent you from being successful or doing the things you love. The burden of stress and anxiety can be heavy enough to push someone to substance abuse. The temporary highs of abusing substances can lead someone to believe that they are curing the problem when, in reality, they are making it worse. If you feel that you or a loved one is dealing with stress to the point where they are behaving out of character, it may be time to seek professional help. HealthyU is here to help people like you or your loved ones manage things like stress, anxiety, or depression. Contact us at (619) 542-9542.
