Do You Have High Anxiety and Blood Pressure Struggles? They Could be Related.

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Apr 21, 2022

✨POV✨: You thought your blood pressure readings were doing a number on you, and now you want to get to the bottom of this - which came first? Your anxiety symptoms or high blood pressure spikes?

The thing about high blood pressure is that it hardly manifests as apparent symptoms.

Unless you get your blood pressure levels regularly checked or tracked, you may remain oblivious to its fluctuating levels.

But did you know that underlying anxiety can also contribute to higher blood pressure?

Anxiety vs. anxiety disorder 🥶

Occasional anxiety is a warranted and natural emotion to feel. It's a normal, regular, occasional, fleeting fear when you experience anxiety as a reaction or response to an anxiety-inducing event/situation.

Mainly because you are no longer anxious after the stressful event has passed.

But when it gets persistent to the point where everyday tasks give you anxious thoughts, it can indicate declining mental health.

This is when it leads to anxiety disorders (when anxiety overpowers our capacity to function). And for some people with anxiety disorders, it almost feels the toughest to reduce the anxiety present in everyday life.

And when this intense anxiety occurs, managing stress can feel next to impossible.

This is when it can impact our blood pressure levels -- this can cause high blood pressure.

Anxiety vs. high blood pressure (hypertension) 🧐

Let's break that down again - when you're anxious, your racing mind and heart rate can lead to migraine, breathlessness, or even irritable bowel syndrome.

Who wouldn't feel anxious when a headache flares up or when there's shortness of breath?

But sometimes, severe or recurrent symptoms can lead to frequent episodes of blood pressure spikes. And this can cause problems with our blood vessels and even our heart.

And guess what - the fact that now there's an increased risk of hypertension - this itself can trigger feelings of anxiety, creating an endless loop no one subscribed to.

Physical symptoms - might be severe or recurrent symptoms, including increased heart rate and shallow breathing, are all signs of elevated blood pressure.

Did you know that there are also some common symptoms between anxiety and high blood pressure?

Some of the common anxiety and hypertension symptoms are chest pain, fatigue, breathlessness, brain fog, and muscle aches.

That being said, anxiety doesn't necessarily develop hypertension (long-term high blood pressure), constantly.

But when you regularly experience intense anxiety, it can raise blood pressure or increase blood pressure even at times showing elevated blood pressure readings than the norm.

Treating anxiety and high blood pressure 🤗

🍳 Diet

You can keep anxiety and high blood pressure at bay by eliminating foods that can affect your blood pressure and anxiety levels.

For example, salt contains sodium, so your body retains more water to help get rid of it. This extra water puts stress on the heart and the blood vessels, raising blood pressure. Limiting your salt intake can help control high blood pressure.

Give anti-anxiety foods a place in your diet.

This means foods that contain Omega-3, Vitamin D, magnesium, and potassium. This helps regulate mood and overall cognitive function. Add nuts, eggs, fish, and even dark chocolate to your regular meals!

Did you know caffeine is known to make us jittery and nervous? Not just that, excessive caffeine can make us dehydrated and can affect the quality of our sleep.

Oh, and BTW, alcohol intake can also increase blood pressure.

Instead, sip on water. It helps regulate mood and blood flow, which are necessary for work productivity and mental fortitude!

Here’s a way to enjoy meal time more consciously and mindfully, check this mini guided session on being - I take the time to enjoy my meal today.

🧠 Rest

Pamper yourself with some alone time or quiet time.

This helps center the focus on you. It could be a few minutes of coloring or reading—a warm bath. Or just lighting some scented candles and lying down for a while.

The other way of resting is ✨ drumroll ✨ sleep.

Did you know sleep loss can also lead to declining emotional wellness?

Fortunately, with being, you get to not only access sessions that can help you sleep but ones that can also help de-stress before bedtime.

Check out this mini guided session on being - I want to release the stress from my body before sleep

🏃🏼‍♀️ Physical movement

It's true what they say - physical activity can help reduce stress and can improve blood circulation, breathing, and overall vitality.

Yoga and stretching are great recommendations to keep anxiety and high blood pressure at bay, too!

Committing to the physical activity of choice for even 10 minutes every day can change the game with our hormones that trigger feelings of calm - like endorphin and dopamine.

Like a short walk or run everyday for 10 mins.

And while you’re at it, let being keep you company. Here - I want to start my day with a mindful walk.

🌻 Positive affirmation

Positive affirmations carry a lot more power than you think.

This is because you are intentionally replacing the negative thoughts that we trained our minds to come up with positive, rational ones. This itself has the power to shape who we are.

If you’re caught up in a web of negative self talk - let being takeover. Check this mini guided therapy session - I want to pay attention to my negative self-talk.

So the next time your anxiety creeps in - repeat and believe these affirmations:

"I'm built to take on this challenging task. It's tough, but I will give it my all and rise above it".

"I've gotten through this before, and I'm capable of getting through this now."

🧘🏽‍♂️ Meditation

To keep yourself from slipping into the lies (negative thoughts) that come with your anxiety disorders, you have to ensure that you believe nothing can shake the fact that you are worthy and capable of everything healthy.

And taking charge of this narrative can lessen the impact of anxiety and high blood pressure.

Meditation has always been a recommended way to help with that - significantly to calm anxiety symptoms. It helps slow down your thinking patterns or processes to help think clearly, while it also helps boost blood flow and oxygen.

And when your mind is at peace, it reflects in your blood pressure.

This means meditation is also a great way of treating high blood pressure.

It can keep keep the heart palpitations (racing heart beat) at bay - which keeps the blood vessels from being damaged. (Tbh, anything that keeps our blood vessels in A-OK condition- we’re here for it.)

Pssst guess what! With being, you get to make this a simple routine! Try this -I want to make meditation a daily habit.

To wrap it up 🤗

Experiencing anxiety is completely normal and is nothing to be afraid of and know that there are ways to have low blood pressure and treat anxiety disorders.

All it takes is to understand when to pull back the reins of your thoughts, so we don't surrender to our anxiety disorders.

Also, make sure to keep a tab on your blood pressure levels and mental health conditions. How? the recommended way is with the help of a mental health specialist.

Check out being in the interim.

Think of therapy but like an app designed by one customized just for you! Whatever feeling you may be having, there's a mini guided therapy session for it.

Breathe! You got this!

Disclaimer

This is not a substitute for therapy.

Contact wellness professionals and medical professionals for any physical or mental health conditions. They have systematic review and treatment options like anti anxiety drug for anxiety disorders, generalized anxiety disorders, as well as depression treatment options. In case of medical emergency like increased blood pressure spikes or chronic high blood pressure visit your nearest health professional asap.