Empathy for the heart
Grab your best friend -- and a box of tissues. A deep-and-meaningful conversation with sympathetic pals can actually help rid you of stress. As grief starts to melt away, so, too, do cortisol levels as well as your risk of hypertension and heart attack. A good night's sleep will be within reach and your energy will return. "You deserve support and guidance to get out of your grief," assures Jayni Bloch, a psychologist in Ottawa. "If someone acknowledges and validates your feelings, you'll release that feeling. It's such a simple thing, but when you experience an acknowledgement of your feelings, it's amazing how you feel afterward."
Make it happen by taking another view of your loss. "For instance," says Bloch, "people start to think, I had something special, and now it's gone forever. I'll never feel happy again. Reframe it into a reality check: 'Yes, it was special and I've lost it, but life carries on, and when I feel better, good things will happen to me again.'"
The meditative heart
For inner peace, try meditation. It not only reduces stress and lowers hypertension, say several studies in The Lancet medical journal, but also slows your heart rate. "When we see patients with broken heart syndrome, we're putting them on beta-blockers, and one of the most noticeable actions is slowing the heart rate, like with meditation," explains Champion. "Meditation and yoga can keep you even-keeled. If your heart is racing from stress, they may help bring it back to normal."
Exercise for the heart
Just do it. Exercising, particularly cardio workouts and walking, causes the body to release endorphins, which have natural stress-fighting properties and will improve your mood. Australian researchers at James Cook University studying the effects of exercise and meditation on stress found that while runners had higher cortisol levels, their endorphins combated it by boosting their mood and their pain tolerance.
Heart-soothing scents
Slip into a soothing bath, then add a few drops of essential oil. Breathe deeply.
"Our noses are the most direct path to the limbic system, where our emotions are stored," explains Sara Rankin, owner of Aromatica, a natural therapies school in Cape Chin, Ont., near Georgian Bay. "Once your brain is triggered by scents, it activates the hypothalamus gland and the limbic system" and may slow stress hormone production. Researchers at Yale University found that some essential oils calm the nervous system and can reduce blood pressure, particularly if combined with massage, reflexology (foot massage) or meditation.
Equally effective are the homeopathy-like Bach flower essences, which have gained celebrity credibility through fans such as Cate Blanchett. Practitioners claim aspen flowers will ease vague fears and anxiety, gentian and clematis are good for unhappiness, and sweet chestnut is effective for anguish.
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