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The emotions of the wounded heart
How creating a series of 40 drawings called "Healing After A Heart Attack" helped a survivor conclude: "This heart attack has broken my heart, but it has also opened my heart."
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“I’m not depressed!” – and other ways we deny the stigma of mental illness...
Dr. Stephen Parker: "Who the hell wouldn’t get depressed and anxious after a heart attack? It's a deeply wounding event, and it is a wound that takes a long time to recover from, whatever the...
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A foreshortened future
Post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms following a traumatic event like heart attack can include something called "a fear of a foreshortened future' in which we no longer expect to have a normal...
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‘Heart Attack & Soul’: the perfect gift for the heart attack survivor
In Dr. Stephen Parker's compelling new book, the Alaskan cardiac psychologist and heart attack survivor explores the 'swirling emotions' that can accompany a serious cardiac event.
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Is it post-heart attack depression – or just feeling sad?
Mayo Clinic cardiologists have estimated that over half of women heart attack survivors suffer from undiagnosed DEPRESSION. Others have used the word GRIEF to better describe these debilitating...
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A heart patient’s positive attitude: a “crazy, crazy idea”?
In a shockingly candid observation, Dr. Michael Lerner warns: "I think this is one of the most toxic New Age ideas: that all patients should keep a positive attitude. What a crazy, crazy idea that is!...
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30 little things about my invisible illness you may not know
Even when we have known a person for decades, there are still things we can discover about their daily life with chronic illness. Learning a bit more about them can help us to be more compassionate to...
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“I’m the least depressed person on earth, except when I’m depressed”
The late surgeon and Yale professor Dr. Sherwin Nuland - who has openly shared his own experiences living with debilitating depression - once described feeling like this: ''When it happens, I can...
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More drugs, less talk for post-heart attack depression?
There are no flashy ads for talk therapy. No public service announcements about the value of talking to another human being as a way to deal with depression or other emotional ills. Yet prescriptions...
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Pain vs. suffering: why they’re not the same for patients
Addressing a patient's "total pain" - this means physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological and practical struggle - is an accepted component of providing good end-of-life care for the dying, but...
View ArticleWhen are cardiologists going to start talking about depression?
Doctors, next time you're seeing a freshly-diagnosed heart patient for a follow up appointment, please remember that we're more than just a major organ that's successfully undergone a procedure.
View ArticleMy book is one year old! Some excerpts to tease you…
by Carolyn Thomas ♥ @HeartSisters ♥ November 18, 2018 What a year it’s been since my book was published by Johns Hopkins University Press one year ago this month! When it was launched, “A Woman’s...
View ArticleDrawing a picture of your diagnosis
Study on drawing an illness: "Patient drawings offer insights that are often missed by healthcare professionals."
View ArticleThe chest pain / panic connection
I experienced a panic episode on a flight to Mayo Clinic - and no wonder! The last time I'd been on a plane, I'd been in mid-heart attack.
View ArticleThe importance of planning for everyday joy
"Each evening, write down something enjoyable you intend to do the next day." Great advice from @Toni_Bernhard
View ArticleThe “new normal”– and why patients hate it
"I can either choose to focus on all that I’ve lost, or I can focus instead on what I still have."
View ArticleWhen we expect to die, but don’t
How could I still be alive after what I've gone through? A common question, with surprising answers...
View ArticleYou’re not always going to feel this way
The freshly-diagnosed patient goes from the shock of being hospitalized to the shock of being sent home before we’re feeling quite ready to go there.
View ArticleThe 5 stages of “What the hell just happened to me?”
Our cardiologists can help us recover physically, but it's emotional recovery that's often ignored.
View ArticleHappy 15th Heart-iversary to me. . .♥
How can I still be alive 15 years after surviving the heart attack that almost killed me?
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