(St1) An outburst of anger puts your heart at great risk. Most physically damaging is anger's effect on your cardiac health. “In the two hours after an angry outburst, the chance of having a heart attack doubles," says Chris Aiken, MD, an instructor in clinical psychiatry at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine and director of the Mood Treatment Center in Winston-Salem, North Carolina [ART1].

Consider the serenity prayer: "Lord grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference." As a psychological catalyst for triggering internal change, Dr. Martin Rossman, author of “The Worry Solution" suggests, "If you could ask your irritated stomach what it needs, what do you think it would tell you?"

(St2) We note the same side-effects with pharmaceutical medications for stress as for sleeping pills: insomnia, seizures, blurry vision, weight gain, headache, nausea, sexual problems. Did I mention more stress. Modern psychiatric dogma holds that a “broken” molecule in the brain lies behind every broken behavior or emotion. A pill for every ill.

Even in cases where a drug may succeed in improving mood, it’s only a band-aid if underlying behavioral issues are ignored. This may require self-discipline, counseling or in the case of Christians, church counseling and intervention . As a general rule, emotion follows action and if actions are corrected emotional stress will often abate.

It’s helpful to pinpoint trigger events, then write down specific coping actions. If an associate or family member is involved avoid direct accusations, but instead express your feelings and ask for suggestions: “When “x” happens I feel “y” --what can we do to resolve this?” Even before that stage it turns out one of the best “actions” is developing a play attitude – play with your dog, play with your kids, play with your spouse [ART2].

(St3) The medical term is hypokalemia, a potassium deficiency defined by blood potassium level below 3.5 mmol. Short of a blood test, symptoms of low Potassium include muscle weakness and cramping, stress, anxiety, heart palpitation, tingling, bloating and constipation. Most people get enough Potassium from their diet, but if these symptoms persist, supplementation is required. But only under a doctor’s supervision because the delicate balance of potassium and sodium is so critical.

Potassium is needed to maintain water balance, facilitate chemical reactions in the cells, for transmitting electrochemical impulses, and regulating transfer of nutrients. This is the true meaning of hydration, as opposed to consuming an arbitrarily high quantity of water.

One safe and effective way is to substitute potassium chloride for sodium chloride (table sale) for a similar salty taste with your meals. Or mix the two. Hemp Oil is high in potassium, which may explain in part it’s efficacy in dealing with stress, mood, and anxiety [ART3]. The other factor, according to Dr. Bryan Walsh, is using sodium bicarbonate or potassium bicarbonate to raise the PH of urine to 7.5 during fasting.[INT1]

(St4) KLThreatening life events like financial troubles or family conflict trigger hormones related to our “fight or flight” mechanism, especially adrenalin and cortisol. The cortisol lingers longest especially if the trigger event is not resolved. This provokes a variety of health issues like diabetes and heart disease.

Inventory your stressors and take steps to eliminate them. Meditate on Scripture and pray. Get counseling. Practice confession and forgiveness. Break down financial, relationship or other major goals into a long list of specific activities (75-100) and implement or complete each on target dates. Order the free book [ART4] www.successleavestraces.com