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Prescribing Joy after Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair, and Cardiac Events · From Recovery to Wellness | Life After Heart Surgery, Aneurysm Repair & Cardiac Healing

• 0:08
  Hello and welcome back to From Recovery to Wellness,
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  a supportive solo podcast for life after heart
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  surgery, aortic aneurysm repair, and major cardiac
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  events. I'm Arnita. And today we're talking about
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  something many people don't expect to be part
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  of recovery, but often need more than they realize.
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  Joy. Some people intertwine the two, joy and
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  happiness, but this would be for another day,
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  another subject, another discussion, but it'll
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  be interchanged with the word happiness as well.
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  And from my perspective, those are two different
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  things, but as I said before, we'll use those
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  interchangeably today. That in this segment so
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  joy what it isn't it's not forced positivity
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  It's not pretending everything is okay. It's
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  not pressure to stay grateful But gentle realistic
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  joy the time that helps your nervous system feel
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  safe again So if you felt disconnected from joy
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  or guilty when moments of lightness appear or
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  unsure whether it's allowed yet this episode
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  is for you, so Why joy matters in heart and aneurysm
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  recovery? Well, after heart surgery or aneurysm
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  repair, life can feel very serious. There are
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  appointments, restrictions, fatigue, fear, and
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  somewhere along the way, joy can quietly slip
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  out of view. But joy is not a distraction from
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  healing. Joy supports healing. Joy helps calm
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  stress hormones. Joy supports emotional recovery.
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  Joy helps your body remember that it is safe,
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  not just surviving. And joy doesn't have to be
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  big. So what does prescribing joy really mean?
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  When I say prescribing joy, I don't mean pushing
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  yourself to feel happy. I mean intentionally
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  allowing moments that feel comforting, steady.
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  meaningful. And that could look like several
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  different things. It could be listening to a
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  favorite song, sitting in the sunlight, a warm
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  drink, a familiar show, a short walk, a memory
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  that brings ease, I have to add this one and
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  that's reading the Bible. That's something that
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  I do daily and it does bring me joy. Joy and
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  recovery is often quiet and quiet joy still counts.
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  Now did you know that positive emotional experiences
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  even brief ones can support cardiovascular and
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  nervous system health? Moments of joy can help
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  reduce stress responses in the body, support
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  emotional regulation, and improve overall well
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  -being during recovery. Joy doesn't replace medical
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  care. However, it does support the environment
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  your body needs to heal. So when joy feels hard
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  or far away, some days it may feel unavailable,
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  but that's normal. Recovery includes grief, grief
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  for your old body, grief for lost time, grief
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  for how life changed. If joy feels too far away,
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  start with neutral. Comfort counts, calm counts,
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  relief counts. You don't have to leap into happiness.
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  You can take one small step toward ease. Now,
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  I want to share our weekly food focus. which
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  are tomatoes. Tomatoes are a simple heart -supported
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  food that can fit beautifully into recovery after
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  heart surgery, aortic aneurysm repair, or other
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  cardiac events. Tomatoes contain lycopene, which
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  is a powerful antioxidant that supports cardiovascular
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  health by helping the body manage inflammation
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  and oxidative stress, two things the body is
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  working through during recovery. There are they
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  are also a natural source of vitamin C which
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  supports tissue repair and immune function Potassium
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  which supports healthy blood pressure balance
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  water and fiber which can help with hydration
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  and digestion and digestion matters during recovery,
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  especially if medications anesthesia or Reduced
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  activity have made your stomach feel off The
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  best part is tomatoes They are easy. You can
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  add them to soups, salads, sandwiches, cooked
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  meals, or even just slice them with a little
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  olive oil. And if your appetite is low, you don't
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  have to force anything. Recovery nutrition isn't
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  about perfection. It's about gentle, supportive
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  choices, one day at a time. Now, here's a gentle
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  question to sit with for this week that I would
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  like for you to reflect on. Ask yourself, what
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  brings you even a small sense of comfort or ease
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  right now? Not what should make you happy, not
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  what used to bring joy, just what feels supportive
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  today. You're welcome to write it down or quietly
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  notice it or share it if that feels right. And...
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  So I just want to recover review that before
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  I close I want you to remember Joy is not selfish
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  Joy is not a distraction from recovery Joy supports
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  healing emotionally and physically It doesn't
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  need to be loud. It doesn't need to be constant.
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  It just needs to be allowed now If structure
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  helps you reconnect with yourself, I occasionally
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  mention guided recovery journals and wellness
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  tools I've created or personally use. They're
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  always optional and simply available to support
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  you. I'll have the links to the journals in the
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  notes below where you can access them. So I want
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  to thank you for being here today. and just remember
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  recovery is not about what you endure it's also
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  about what you allow back into your world be
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  gentle with yourself this week notice moments
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  of ease when they appear and i will talk to you
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  next time so be well