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FITNESS TIPS : A Good Reason to Look on the Bright Side
Anxious, angry, depressed? We all feel bad sometimes. But there's one very vocal objector: your heart.

Topic: Healthy Habits
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People who often get swallowed up by these and other negative moods may have a higher risk of heart disease -- even if they're otherwise healthy. But you can turn any mood around with a few simple steps.

Social Stress, Troubled Ticker
Social anxiety may have the greatest impact on heart health. In a study of healthy older men, those who scored highest on a negative-emotion scale -- especially on social anxiety measures -- had the greatest incidence of heart disease 3 years later.

Build Yourself Up
If stress and anxiety have taken hold of you and won't let go, something really structured like cognitive-behavioral therapy -- alone or coupled with medication -- may help improve your sense of control and boost your confidence. Here are a couple more feel-good or feel-calm techniques:
Controlled breathing
Muscle relaxation (Learn the technique with these tips.)

SOURCES: Effect of negative emotions on frequency of coronary heart disease (The Normative Aging Study). Todaro, J. F., Shen, B. J., Niaura, R., Spiro, A. 3rd, Ward, K. D., American Journal of Cardiology 2003 Oct 15;92(8):901-906.

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