In Brief

• The Facts:

  A new study associates anger, vital exhaustion, anti-depressant use, and poor social ties with incidents of atrial fibrillation.

• Reflect On:

  How often are you mindful of your emotions? When your feel burnt out, what do you do to fix that feeling? Are you aware of how 'burning out' may negatively impact your health?

Our thoughts, feelings and emotions are connected with the physical world in many different ways. One of the most measurable ways deals with our biology, and human health. A study published in the European Journal of Preventative Cardiology explains how symptoms of ‘burnout’–feeling excessively tired, demoralized, and irritable, among others–is potentially associated with dangerous heart rhythm disturbance. It’s one of many studies that outlines how inner peace and calmness can really impact our health in a very positive way.

Vital exhaustion, commonly referred to as burnout syndrome, is typically caused by prolonged and profound stress at work or home… It differs from depression, which is characterized by low mood, guilt, and poor self-esteem. The results of our study further establish the harm that can be caused in people who suffer from exhaustion that goes unchecked.” – Dr. Parveen K. Garg of the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.

This is quite a significant finding given the fact that atrial fibrillation is the most common form of heart arrhythmia. It’s estimated that 17 million people in Europe and 10 million people in the United States will have this condition by next year, increasing their risk for heart attack, stroke, and death.

The cause of atrial fibrillation is still poorly understood, the study does mention that a nationwide registry-based Danish study found that anti-depressant use was strongly associated with AF development. In the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis, depressive symptoms were also associated with incident AF, but the association between vital exhaustion and AF was just as strong. You can refer to the full study to see the methods used to conduct it.

The Institute Of Heartmath

It’s also very important to mention that a group of prestigious and internationally recognized leaders in physics, biophysics, astrophysics, education, mathematics, engineering, cardiology, biofeedback, and psychology (among other disciplines) have been doing some brilliant work over at the Institute of HeartMath.

Their work, among many others, has proven that when a person is feeling really positive emotions like gratitude, love, or appreciation, the heart beats out a different message, which determines what kind of signals are sent to the brain. Not only that, but because the heart beats out the largest electromagnetic field produced in the body, the Institute has been able to gather a significant amount of data. According to Rolin McCratey, Ph.D, and Director of Research at Heartmath,

“Emotional information is actually coded and modulated into these fields. By learning to shift our emotions, we are changing the information coded into the magnetic fields that are radiated by the heart, and that can impact those around us. We are fundamentally and deeply connected with each other and the planet itself.” (source)

Another great point made below by the Institute:

“One important way the heart can speak to and influence the brain is when the heart is coherent – experiencing stable, sine-wavelike pattern in its rhythms. When the heart is coherent, the body, including the brain, begins to experience all sorts of benefits, among them are greater mental clarity and ability, including better decision making.” (source)

In fact, the heart actually sends more signals to the brain than the brain sends in return. What’s even more amusing is the fact that these heart signals (from heart to brain) actually have a significant effect on brain function.

Research findings have shown that as we practice heart coherence and radiate love and compassion, our heart generates a coherent electromagnetic wave into the local field environment that facilitates social coherence, whether in the home, workplace, classroom or sitting around a table. As more individuals radiate heart coherence, it builds an energetic field that makes it easier for others to connect with their heart. So, theoretically, it is possible that enough people building individual and social coherence could actually contribute to an unfolding global coherence. –  McCratey

The bottom line? It’s important to do our best to cultivate feelings of peace, not just for our biology, but for our planet as well. These feelings represent, I believe, the natural state of human beings. The problem is that we’ve created an environment that is not conducive to our natural state.

How To Cultivate Inner Peace In The Modern World

Cultivating feelings of calm, and trying to achieve inner peace more often in one’s life can be a very hard task, especially given the fact that it’s something that’s never discussed, brought-up or even taught in school. Learning to regulate and deal with our emotions seems to be something so important to our health and well being, and ultimately our collective ability to move forward as the human race.

On an individual level, many of us are working very hard, and it’s no secret that the modern lifestyle, which seems to be a ‘grind’ for the majority of people, is not really natural for a human being. Works schedules, especially in North America, can easily cause ‘burnout.’ When you add in the fact that most of us aren’t able to do what we love to do, it simply compounds the problem.

Furthermore, we live in a day and age where new information is emerging that challenges our long held belief systems. Whether it be government corruption, for example, or something else, waking up to new information about how our world is really functioning and then realizing that it doesn’t have to be this way can also cause some unhealthy feelings that prevent us from even thinking about or being mindful about inner peace.

If your’e having trouble with that, you can check out the CE protocol. It’s something CE founder Joe Martino developed to help people who are currently going through the process of ‘waking up.’

Another great mindfulness technique to help you when you feel burnout or feelings of stress come along is to simply be aware of them, observe them, and be aware of your reaction to the feelings. Simply observing ourselves and being aware our own thoughts and reactions to our feelings can help see them from a different perspective. Contemplating on the feelings of ‘burnout’ alone can be of tremendous assistance and help guide you in the right direction.

Certainly, other techniques like meditation can be used, but for me, personally, observing myself and ‘catching’ myself in the moment helps me the most. It also helps me personally to shift my perspective on life within the moment, perhaps cultivate feelings of gratitude and appreciation, and remind myself that there is a deeper part of myself at play here with regards to my existence. We are here to learn, experience, and ‘play.’

Furthermore, the more we engage in our passions the more aligned we become. This will also help to decrease the feelings of ‘burnout.’ A lot of the time we are simply not spending enough time engaging in what we love to do. The more we engage in what we love to do the more we align with our purpose.

These are just my thoughts, I hope they help.