I want to preface this post by saying that I am not a medical professional and I do not dispense medical advice. All I’m doing in this post is sharing my own experiences. If you suffer from high blood pressure, please consult your doctor. Once again, I’m not trying to cure anybody because I’m not qualified to do so. I’m simply recording my experiences in my personal diary which is what this blog is.
I had my first spike in blood pressure when I was 24. I had no idea what was happening to me but it was really bad. It felt like I had an elephant sitting on the nape of my neck. Blood was pounding in my ears, I had trouble breathing, and my vision got impaired. My sister took me to the emergency room. This was in Montreal, so, as you can imagine, I had to wait in line for 6 hours to be attended, after which a sleepy nurse told me to go home and take a Tylenol.
Since then, I have, of course, figured out what the problem was. High blood pressure is hereditary in my family. Both of my grandparents on my mother’s side died from it at an early age. Both of my parents suffer from it right now. If you’ve read my recent post on salo, you probably realize how our traditional Ukrainian diet contributes to the high rates of BP problems in our country.
My BP was high all the time but not to the point where it would interfere with my life. Several times a year, however, there would be a spike in my BP and then I’d be rendered useless for as long as it stayed high. A moment came when I was practically immobilized by high BP for almost six weeks. It was a full-blown and protracted hypertensive episode. That was when I realized that if I didn’t want to become an invalid at such a young age, I needed to do something.
As you probably know, I’m very anti-drug. (Again, I, me, myself. Not other people, just me). I refuse to be on any kind of medication that I’d have to take on a permanent basis. So I used the non-medicinal means at my disposal and am happy to report that my BP has been at around 120/80 for over a year now. (I have a monitor at home and recommend that every BP sufferer get one.)
The most basic things you can do are changing your diet and lifestyle. Here is just a small list of what one can do (feel free to add your own suggestions):
1. The best forms of exercise for a BP sufferer are walking and swimming. Running and cardio can be very dangerous. People have had strokes while running, so this is something that should be approached very carefully and in consultation with a doctor. I recommend walking 10,000 steps a day. Buy a pedometer. I recommend this one because it is the most precise of all I have ever tried. Create a table and record how many steps you walked every day. Here is a random excerpt from my steps log, for example:
2. For breakfast, it is a great idea to eat steel-cut oatmeal. I mean the one you cook for 40 minutes, not the one that you get from a package and make by pouring hot water on top of it. I add flax seed, wheat germ and raisins to my oatmeal. It tastes horrible but I feel a lot better after every portion. Even a small portion of this oatmeal a few times a week makes a huge difference.
3. A small piece of very dark chocolate should always be at hand because it lowers high BP. Sunflower seeds and pumpkin seeds (unsalted, of course) are also great. So is pomegranate juice. Fish, nuts, a lot of fresh fruit and vegetables. Drink as much water as you can.
All of these measures, however, are purely cosmetic. They will work for a while but then your body will get used to them and the BP will start rising once again. I believe that there is no way you can deal with high BP productively and long-term if you don’t address the psychological cause of it. If you disagree with this statement, that’s fine. Go pop some beta-blockers, or whatever. This post is written for those who are interested in how I reduced my BP dramatically without taking any kind of medication even once.
The psychological cause of high BP is repressed anger (aggression, rage). In order to lower the BP, you need to learn to stop repressing and let the anger out in a way that will not, of course, harm anybody. Here are several suggestions on how to do that:
1. Create a phrase that expresses your anger and is meaningful to you. For example, “I hate you, you vile jerks and nasty pedophiles.” The goal is to yell it at the top of your lungs for as long as you need to feel exhausted. (This is not to be done in public, of course.) It will be hard because, remember, you are repressing the rage. So if yelling doesn’t just happen, start slow. Say this phrase in your mind. Then, whisper it. Then try to say it in a regular conversational voice. Then go louder, etc.
2. You’ll need to find a punching object. I recommend a pillow. Beat it until you are completely exhausted. Beat it and yell your phrase about the vile jerks or whatever. N. had his first and only spike in BP a while ago. He was under extreme stress because of something related to his visa and unemployment. I taught him this strategy of beating objects and yelling. He destroyed his keyboard, just trashed it completely. And his BP dropped immediately to a normal level.
3. Blogging does wonders for high BP. You have to write passionately, though. Writing many sincere, passionate, angry posts will help you with your BP and will also attract many readers. I should know, I’ve been doing that for 2,5 years.
4. Profanity is very good and helpful, too. (Once again, this is not to be done in public.) I’m lucky in that I can swear very inventively in a variety of languages, so when I do that in my office during times of stress, nobody understands what I’m saying and nobody has to suffer as a result.
5. Remember, this is something you are doing for your health, so there should be no shame attached to these practices. If you need to wriggle on the floor in a paroxysm of anger, yelling and beating your punching pillow (while being alone, of course), then just do it. Of course, if you feel like doing it around other people, this means you are not trying to solve your health issues but, rather, are being manipulative and abusive to others.
The most important strategy, of course, is to identify the source of your rage. This kind of anger takes years and decades to accumulate. Why do you repress anger so much? When and where did you learn to keep it inside instead of releasing it in legitimate ways? What pushed you to control your aggression so much?
Answering these questions is crucial for anybody who wants to lower their BP permanently.
I’m sorry that the post is so long. I just wanted to have all this information in one place so that people who need it can find it easily.
Clarissa's Blog 
I would add – don’t let things get you angry in the first place. Blood pressure is related to stress, and stress is simply the inability to recognize the difference between the changeable and the unchangeable.
Once you’re able to recognize the difference between things you can affect and things you cannot not, then you can work on solving those things you can fix. In N.’s case, for example, his VISA status is out of his control. It’s in the bureaucracy. His unemployment is linked to his VISA. Therefore, also out of his control. Consternation about these issues do him no good – he can do nothing to change either reality. All it will do will raise his BP.
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This is precisely the kind of rationalization that causes high BP. Repressing emotions causes such a wide variety of health issues that I definitely do not recommend following this path.
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Perhaps you don’t understand the meaning of repression. Now – here, I could get angry that your dense, but I know I can’t solve that. So there is no anger. There is no repression. There is no blood pressure problem. Instead of getting angry – get active, and fix that which you have control over.
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I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard such speeches from BP sufferers. Once I heard it literally while the person was wheeled into an ER with a stroke.
Everybody can choose to repeat the “I have no anger” slogan. That’s everybody’s God-given right. This post, however, is aimed at people who have not repressed to such a huge degree as you obviously have.
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“. .. who have not repressed to such a huge degree as you obviously have.”
You’re not a medical doctor, but obviously your a fortune teller. Congrats. Perhaps I’ll see you at the carnival in your next career/
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The only reason why I’m sharing my strategy of lowering blood pressure is that readers have repeatedly asked me to do so. Why this bothers you so much is a mystery.
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It doesn’t bother me. Quite frankly, I agree with reactions to anger – they’re healthy and generally productive. When I find myself angry, I do exactly as you say – I recently destroyed a wooden pallet with a hammer. Very therapeutic. However, it is exceedingly rare that I get angry, because I understand what I have control over and what I don’t.
Why that bothers you so much, I don’t understand.
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Once again, the post was written in response to readers other than you.
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Stress absolutely has an impact on one’s health. You know I have epilepsy, and the two things that trigger seizures for me are stress and sleep deprivation. It’s not guaranteed to happen, but when I haven’t been sleeping, and I’m stressed, I start to have partials–and that’s my clue to slow down. Take a nap if I can, or just stop and do breathing exercises (*mumblesmokeacigarettemumble*) or meditate.
One thing I’ve noticed is that (and I feel a wee bit stupid for this having been an epiphany.) menstruation puts stress on the body. For me that means a higher likelihood of partials. During that most favored week, I make sure to take it easier on myself than I normally do. I stay at home, watch movies or read (more) books, sleep more, etc.
I love your advice on taking out rage. I think that’s good advice for anybody. My brother keeps a punching bag in the basement–and his girlfriend and I are the only ones to use it. It’s so satisfying to kick the crap out of it while screaming at the top of my lungs.
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” My brother keeps a punching bag in the basement–and his girlfriend and I are the only ones to use it. It’s so satisfying to kick the crap out of it while screaming at the top of my lungs.”
-And it’s fun, too. 🙂 Of course, some people find that even the idea of doing that gives them a headache. And those suffer the most.
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It is a lot of fun, for sure. I’ve been a big fan of Jackie Chan since childhood, and I’m not ashamed to admit I totally pretend I’m as skillful and awesome as Jackie Chan during my punching bag sessions.
Screaming while doing it is fun as well. My brother almost caught me at it once because I was screaming so loud I didn’t hear him coming in the door.
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Doing martial arts is healthy – I don’t have high BP but do taekwondo during the week and its a great way to release tension and stress with the shouting and kicking – we use punchbags occasionally too. Nice post.
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“The goal is to yell it at the top of your lungs for as long as you need to feel exhausted.”
My neighbors would definitely come running.
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Perhaps the punching bag is a better option for you. Worked wonders for my son.
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Yes, neighbors are a problem. Can you drive to the woods or an open field?
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Not at the moment. The next time some insight about who I am angry at bubbles up I will try it in a normal, but angry, seething voice with the pillow punching though.
It’s funny, but I have had conversations with people who swear it is not normal to have aggressive, violent urges or fantasies, even toward people who have been very hurtful, and I always disagreed with them; it seemed normal to me and not in any way indicative of an actual violent personality. And yes, actually soothing in a weird way.
But people on this blog seem to agree with me. Hmmm. These people actually swore that they never had “bad” thoughts about anyone-could this be true? Nice to know I am not abnormal anyway. I have been thinking about getting the bp monitor- I am always super stressed in medical establishments so I really want to see the results at home. Can anyone recommend a brand or particular type of monitor?
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” I always disagreed with them; it seemed normal to me and not in any way indicative of an actual violent personality. And yes, actually soothing in a weird way.”
– I think you are absolutely right.
“These people actually swore that they never had “bad” thoughts about anyone-could this be true”
-If they repress bad enough, they might manage to convince themselves of it. It’s sad that people have to repress, though.
This is my monitor: http://www.amazon.com/Omron-HEM-712C-Automatic-Pressure-IntelliSense/dp/B00006WNPX/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1324409915&sr=8-9
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Thanks, that looks like an easy to use monitor, though there is a newer version. Funny, they even have a name for my suspicion that my blood pressure is higher in the examining room:; White Coat hypertension. Haha, well, we’ll see.
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What I do is I take my anger out on pieces of paper, either by drawing, or by writing poems, plays, and stories which are quite visceral but get the anger out of me.The only negative part about this method is the thought that some day, someone may find my journal and my sketchbooks, and confront me over what kind of screwy stuff I come up with when I’m angry. But I have a response prepared, “Now, now, anger often accompanies genius, and I’ve got both in spades!”
I also deeply love listening to music, especially metal and heavy, thumping classical, for catharsis.
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I totally agree with this post and the one on repressed anger. Repressed anger was absolutely — no doubt about it at all — at the core of my chronic fatigue during my twenties. It has taken me the longest time to figure this out (and to figure out that this is still, to some degree, my issue, despite all the practical changes I have made). I feel like I always have to manage my temperature gauge so that I don’t overheat.
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Blogging does wonders for high BP. You have to write passionately, though. Writing many sincere, passionate, angry posts will help you with your BP and will also attract many readers.
While I agree with this part, I must add that all the readers that it brings may cause high BP. At least in my experience, the more traffic, the more trolls. I am not sure I am made for blogging as its volatile nature does upset me greatly and little blog explosions drain my energy. It’s been a while since I have posted anything remotely visceral, because I tend to get shit even for the most inconsequential of posts…
But I agree that writing honestly and with unabashed emotion is very therapeutic.
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You could turn off the comments for posts where you don’t want to get trolls assaulting you.
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I might add, if you have acute onset or episodic severe high blood pressure, hie thee to a general internist for the basic tests and exams, and then to a nephrologist or endocrinologist as suggested by test results.
Some kidney diseases may show this pattern of hypertension, and the diseases affect all age groups.
The adrenal medulla secretes the fight/flight hormone epinephrine, which also elevates blood pressure when needed. Tumors of this organ, called pheochromocytomas, typically have episodic release of high amounts of epinephrine, resulting in abrupt and severe hypertensive episodes. These tumors can be seen in young adults as well as older adults.
A few of the episodic high (or episodic low) blood pressure syndromes are due to inherited gene defects, typically in Mendelian inheritance patterns (ie, just one gene broken).
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> hie thee to a general internist for the basic tests and exams, and then to a nephrologist or endocrinologist as suggested by test results. <
in my experience good/vital point !
(applied physiology 101-wise) since BP in general and particular is indeed mostly regulated/connected to kidney function.
(am not addressing soc. metabolic syndrome)
nevertheless Clarissa, i like/appreciate the imo vital point you are stating that *you* test and then apply/live/eat what works for you – also nutrition-/metabolic-wise 🙂
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Regarding oatmeal…you might check out some “healthy living” blogs for healthy oatmeal recipes that don’t taste terrible. I don’t think you’ll like most of the content on these blogs, (In fact, if you have the time/motivation, I think it’d be hilarious to see a Clarissa-takedown of them!) but the oatmeal recipes are great!
For example:
http://www.dailygarnish.com/2010/09/how-to-make-oatmeal-in-a-rice-cooker.html
http://www.katheats.com/recipage?search_term=oatmeal&ui=26
http://ohsheglows.com/recipage/?search_term=oatmeal&ui=133
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Thanks for this post, Clarissa.
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Could killing zombies accomplish the same thing? I’m forever amazed that my co-workers feel great after a lunch hour of playing bloody, horrific, murderous video games. I think my blood pressure would sky-rocket. Or the people that get on the internet and rage and curse and insult others. Could they be “medicating” themselves?
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No. Those who rage on the Internet are behaving in a type A way, which is stressful.
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My doctor (of traditional medicine) recommended blogging for lowering blood pressure. And I’m not sure it would have worked if I limited myself to writing about how roses are red and the sky is blue and Santa is bringing cool gifts. 🙂
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btw i have come to the conclusion, that web-ragers e.a. are e.g. trying to imitate soc. strength, intimidate others by being angry and thus disqualify themselves as soc. omegas hm douchenozzles.
(disclaimer : just read “the gift of fear” recently and found some good input/food-for-thoughts for myself)
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Of course! Unleashing a nuclear holocaust on an invented civilization online is highly effective. And so is barking at online interlocutors.
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Very therapeutic:
http://www.devastatingexplosions.com/
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Reblogged this on Inspiredweightloss.
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