The surgery is over and you are trying to get back into your life but you’re overwhelmed with feelings of sadness or depression.
Did you know that research over the last two decades has shown that depression and heart disease are common companions? Studies show that depression can appear after heart disease and/or heart disease surgery.
Although it’s still difficult to pinpoint the exact reasons why, we know that depression affects a person’s ability to stay regular with their medications and participate in life.
Symptoms of depression can stem from a number of factors:
- Family history, physical health, environmental factors
- Improper balance of brain hormones that help regulate mood
- High levels of stress, loss and grief, life transition
Since this topic is quite broad, I’ll focus on one area that I’ve seen with my patients and that I have also come to understand through my own experience.
After the cardiac event many people experience a conflicting range of emotions. On one hand they are grateful to be given another chance – and on the other hand, this new chance comes with a hefty dose of rules and regulations; don’t smoke, eat right, lose weight, check your cholesterol, exercise, control your stress. All the necessary changes can make you feel like you must be perfect – and well, perfect isn’t reality.
Not all patients will experience depression, but for those who do, the conflicting range of emotions can make you feel stuck. Feeling stuck and not knowing how to cope with these emotions can cause you to feel hopelessness.
Feeling hopeless about your life and having no interest in your life are two main factors in depression.
Just knowing that your feelings are real and that conflicting emotions can cause hopelessness, could help you begin to feel unstuck. Once you begin to feel unstuck your ability to cope may increase .
Often times healing can begin with a single shift in insight – I hope this insight helps you.
Your life is important. If you are feeling overwhelming anxiety or sadness, please don’t hesitate to ask your doctor for a referral for psychological care or appropriate medication.
References:
Pratt L., Ford D., Crum R., et al. Depression, psychotropic medication and risk of myocardial infarction. Perspective data from the Baltimore ECA follow-up. Circulation, 1996; 94 (12): 3123-9.
Frasure-Smith N., Lesperance F., Talajic M. Depression and 18th-month prognosis after myocardial infarction. Circulation, 1995; 91 (4): 999-1005.