![\"\"](\"http:\/\/blueheronhealthnews.com\/site\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/12\/mr_positivity.jpg\" "\\"mr_positivity\\"")
In Today\u2019s feature article I\u2019m going to tell you a story of two men. They lived pretty similar lives, with similar diets and moderate exercise routines. Both were married with two children and neither one smoked.<\/p>\nIn Today\u2019s feature article I\u2019m going to tell you a story of two men. They lived pretty similar lives, with similar diets and moderate exercise routines. Both were married with two children and neither one smoked.<\/p>\n
These two men happened to live in the same neighborhood and work in middle-management positions in the same company. <\/p>\n
Looking at their lives there was only one fundamental difference between these two men. And I believe this fundamental difference caused Sam do die from a heart attack at the age of 47, while Jonas is still rocking and rolling at the age 86.<\/p>\n
The sad part is that the one thing Jonas did to extend his life didn\u2019t cost anything and was relativity easy to do.<\/p>\n
You see, Sam was what I call an \u201cexcessive worrier.\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n He always tended to see the glass half empty while Jonas considered it half full. Every time something happened or he heard any kind of news, he predicted gloom and doom coming from it.<\/p>\n But worrying isn\u2019t a lethal disease, you may say.<\/p>\n Well, think again. Consider what happens physically when you worry.<\/p>\n 1)\tYour body releases stress hormones, which triggers the fight or flight response throughout your body. When stress is triggered by anxiety, a flight or even freeze response is more common than fight.<\/p>\n 2)\tThe stress response causes blood to flow from your intestines into your skeletal muscles. Your heartbeat and blood pressure increase. Blood sugar levels skyrocket and loads of triglycerides (blood fats sometimes called the third type of cholesterol) are released to have immediate energy ready in the blood stream.<\/p>\n 3)\tAt the same time the digestive and immune systems shut down. Any part of the brain that\u2019s not immediately needed for fighting or fleeing is shut down \u2013 this includes rational thinking and memory.<\/p>\n This all causes immediate symptoms such as tense muscles, irrationality, memory loss, headaches, fatigue, sweating and all kinds of discomfort.<\/p>\n Under normal circumstances, the anxiety\/stress response only lasts for a little while. But for someone like Sam who was constantly worrying about what would happen, this physical state had become the norm for him.<\/p>\n And the physical symptoms were obvious\u2026 <\/strong><\/p>\n For one, he suffered acid reflux and stomach aches on a daily basis since his digestive system was in a suspended state most of the time. This also weakened his immune system even further.<\/p>\n If you too suffer frequent heartburn, learn the surefire way to eliminate acid reflux in 5 minutes\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n Or check out how to get rid of IBS for good here\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n But why did I blame Sam\u2019s heart attack on his worrying? Let me take you through it step by step:<\/p>\n [adrotate group=”5″]1)\tSince his blood pressure and heart-rate was always in high gear, Sam\u2019s arteries were constantly under intense pressure. Little by little cracks began to form.<\/p>\n 2)\tUnder normal situations the immune system would be working overtime to repair the arteries. But due to the constant stress and worrying, as well as the digestive problems, the immune system is basically paralyzed.<\/p>\n 3)\tThe only way to fix the cracks in the arteries was to load them up with what is usually a temporary solution of cholesterol and plaque buildup. Due to the chronic overload of triglycerides and blood sugar, the plaque buildup was quick and the arteries narrowed down to nothing.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, there were only two possible outcomes for Sam; heart attack or stroke.<\/strong><\/p>\n There is, of course, an actual clinical condition of chronic anxiety. I don\u2019t want to minimize that. However, for most of us it\u2019s a choice to look at the world with a positive attitude.<\/p>\n Someone like Jonas who always thinks first of how things could go well (like John Lennon, he always saw the solution, never the problem) is often accused of having a Pollyanna attitude. Many people consider him unrealistic or even a fool.<\/p>\n To those who criticize, Jones simply says he\u2019d rather be a happy fool than a miserable realist. And, he adds that although he\u2019s not always right, he has less often been wrong about something going right than his worrying friends about something going wrong.<\/p>\n The science is definitely on Jones\u2019 side. The fact is that worrying shuts down the very part of our bodies and brains that best can deal with the things we would worry about in the first place.<\/p>\n If you have high blood pressure caused by stress or any other causes, check out our 3 easy exercises that help drop blood pressure below 120\/80 as soon as today\u2026<\/a><\/p>\n