Physiology: Heartache, Faith, and Fear

Have you ever wondered why emotions have such a strong effect on your heart? After all, the heart is just another organ like the stomach or liver, right? No exactly. I’ve been wondering what the deal is with the heart. I mean, why is it the symbol of love and why is there actual physical pain there when you’re stressed, depressed or in all other respects, unhappy? And why at the same time do happy, exciting feelings also cause the heart to do weird things physically? I can’t say I’ve had recent feelings or emotions to trigger these questions, but I’ve experienced the oddities of the heart just like everyone else in times of stress and happiness, so I decided to figure out what the deal is. You look everywhere and you find all sorts of things about heartache and broken hearts. They’re usually talking about the emotional pain more so than the physical pain that can sometimes accompany it. But I find the physiological manifestations of emotions interesting. So, I’ve done some research and here’s what I’ve found.

Time for the nerd part of me to shine… There are actually quite some strong ties between the brain and the heart. Our emotions cause the brain to tell the heart what’s going on and then the heart responds in complex ways. When we’re stressed, anxious, or angry our heart patterns are more irregular and crazy. This is generally not good for the heart, physically or otherwise. The brain then recognizes these patterns as negative… duh. These negative emotions seem to start a chain reaction in the body. First they cause those irregular beats we feel, but they also raise stress hormones, constrict blood vessels, raise blood pressure and weaken the immune system. Of course the first place we notice any physical discomfort to these emotions is the heart. Our brain is basically sending chemical signals, which can weaken heart tissue. There are hormones like cortisol, which are released during times of stress by the adrenal cortex. The adrenal cortex is part of the adrenal gland, which sits on top of the kidneys. The king of these regulations though is the anterior pituitary of the brain. This is where hormones like corticotropin (ACTH) are secreted. ACTH then stimulates the secretion of cortisol by the adrenal cortex. I’m sure that’s more information than you really cared to know. You knew what I was before you started reading this, so none of this “Oh my gosh, she’s a nerd!” stuff. Anyway, back to business. Opposite of that would be those feelings of overwhelming happiness, excitement, the ‘butterflies’ etc. These emotions cause the heart to beat more smoothly.

All this jazz I’ve just rambled on about is associated with something called broken heart syndrome. Like I was saying, it’s an actual, physical heart condition temporarily brought on by stressful situations. Part of the heart even temporarily enlarges. Crazy, huh? Granted, the actual broken heart syndrome is usually reserved for really severe events. But I think the physiology behind still applies, even if the effects aren’t as severe as in the actual condition. I think most of us can vouch that being stressed or unhappy is physically draining. Despite all the information and knowing that there are physiological things happening to you when you’re sad, there is really no way to make it just stop in it’s tracks. At least I haven’t quite figured that one out. It takes time for your body to catch up with your new mindset.

So, I went to the BYU forum once that had an old professor of mine (Dr. Bell) whom I really liked. He talked about the physiology of faith and fear. It was a really awesome forum. I figure it kinda ties in with what I’ve talked about and is pretty interesting so here’s a little about that-

You know how when you get scared you feel your heart start racing and you breath in a lot deeper? Well, there are physiological reasons for that. Again it involved the hypothalamus sending signals all over the place and this causes an increase in blood pressure, blood sugar levels rise, the liver and muscles release sugar to be used as energy to fuel the muscles, blood vessels contract, and the lungs dilate. This helps you get away if there is the fear of physical danger. It’s part of the autonomic nervous system, which means it’s something that happens and you don’t even have to think about it. Your mind and body are that good. Pretty cool stuff I think. When we’re afraid our bodies release the stress hormone cortisol, yet again. This stuff saves our lives though. We would not be able to survive without cortisol. Well, I suppose technically we could just so long as we never get hungry, scared, sick, or stressed in anyway. If you live that kind of life style let me know what the heck you’re doing.

So basically our fear can keep us alive. It causes the release of cortisol to help us cope with our stressors. But fear is not always acute, or in other words a temporary state to escape rational danger. Dr. Bell talked about all of our irrational fears that we constantly carry with us. The fear of failure, responsibility, embarrassment, public speaking, etc. are all irrational fears, which can inhibit our progress in this life. Our fear causes us to sacrifice our potential for the mediocre.

We all have pains, sorrows, and trial in this life. That culminates half the definition of life. The other half though is joy, service, and love. The Lord has given us bodies that can physically feel emotional pain. I think in a way this helps us better understand what we’re going through and then the ability to empathize with others. Our bodies have also been designed to protect us from overwhelming and even dangerous situations. You gotta admit, God knew what he was doing when he designed/created our bodies to help us make it through this mortal life. Our bodies however don't control us. We can choose faith over fear. We can choose to work to dispel stress and heartache rather than living with it as a constant companion. I wonder if we’ll still have an autonomic nervous system and adrenal glands in the next life… Anyway, I figured I’d leave you with a transitional set of quotes. Think about it.

Relationships are like glass. Sometimes it's better to leave them broken than try to hurt yourself putting it back together.
-- Author Unknown

The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.
-- Max Lerner, The Unfinished Country, 1950

I thought when love for you died, I should die. It's dead. Alone, most strangely, I live on.
-- Rupert Brooke

[A] final comfort that is small, but not cold: The heart is the only broken instrument that works.
-- T.E. Kalem

“You block your dream when you allow your fear to grow bigger than your faith.”
- Mary Manin Morrissey

"Fear imprisons, faith liberates; fear paralyzes, faith empowers; fear disheartens, faith encourages; fear sickens, faith heals; fear makes useless, faith makes serviceable."
- Harry Emerson Fosdick

“Live by faith and not by fear.”
- Elder Quentin L. Cook

“As children of our Heavenly Father, we should learn to be happy, to trust in Him, and to not be afraid.”
- President James E. Faust