HOW TO LOWER YOUR BLOOD PRESSURE NATURALLY

Part 21: Personality and Emotions

The jury is still out on whether there is a direct link between personality and high blood pressure but there seem to be some definite links.

One study published in the  Journal of the American Medical Association in 2003 showed that certain personal characteristics are linked with high blood pressure. The research team studied 3000 young adults and tracked whether certain aspects of personality ( impatience, competitiveness, hostility, depression, and/or anxiety) were linked to the development of high blood pressure in later life.

Blood pressure was measured before the study began and at intervals over the following 15 years.
They found that impatience and hostility were each linked with the development of high blood pressure – those in the study were almost twice as likely (1.84 times) to develop it than those who did not have a those personality traits to any great degree.

This study showed that other personality traits had no effect on the likelihood of developing high blood pressure (apart from competitiveness which affected the blood pressure readings only the white male subjects in the group!)

Other studies have shown that those with high blood pressure tend to be angrier, more anxious, more depressed and more Type-A personalities than those with normal blood pressure and have also found that characteristics such as restrained aggression, inner tension and submissiveness tend to be associated with high blood pressure. And yet others have shown little difference.

The fact it that there is probably no direct and consistent 100% correlation between personality type and blood pressure. There are so many factors which come into play to determine whether someone develops hypertension or not. 

But if you think about what happens to you when you get really angry, you can see that it can't be helpful to your blood pressure or your heart. You tense up, arteries supplying the heart constrict, blood becomes stickier and flows less easily, adrenaline pumps round your body as you get ready to "flee or fight" and your heart rate soars.

Not too harmful if you get angry at a driver who cuts you off once in a blue moon, but if you get angry at this kind of thing several times a day things start to look more serious.

If you tend to have an impatient, angry manner and to blow a fuse about little things then it makes sense to try and develop a calmer approach to life (as well as to avoid people and situations which particularly upset you). If you find that difficult at least find ways of coping with stress and reducing your workload, which help reduce your tendency towards feeling overwhelmed and flying off the handle.

Not that it particularly good to supress your emotions.

Some studies have shown that high blood pressure is linked to supressed hostility and anger. The important thing is to learn to look at life in ways that mean you don't react in that way. Some relaxation techniques we will talk about later will help in that respect.

It also helps to step into the other person's shoes (if someone is making you angry) and see life from their point of view. And after all, do those little things that annoy you really matter more than your health?

One piece of research which is not disputed is that happiness helps you live longer even if you already have health problems. So think about what makes you happy and keeps you upbeat and get more of it into your life as well as trying to live with a more positive and optimistic frame of mind.

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