Pink Prescriptions - April 2026

April 2026 Issue — Pink Prescriptions
Take a Breath: It’s Time to Rethink Stress

April is recognized as National Stress Awareness Month, a time dedicated to highlighting the impact stress has on our daily lives and overall well-being. In today’s fast-paced world, stress has become a common experience, affecting both mental and physical health if left unmanaged. From work pressures to personal responsibilities, chronic stress can lead to burnout, anxiety, and even serious health issues such as heart disease. By raising awareness and encouraging healthy coping strategies, this month serves as an important reminder to prioritize self-care, build resilience, and develop effective ways to manage stress before it becomes overwhelming.

Tara Kay, PA-C
Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists

From a medical perspective,
what impact can stress
have on your health?

Consistently high stress levels can cause serious health issues. High levels of chronic stress have been strongly linked to an increased risk of developing heart disease, depression, dementia, diabetes, cancer and more.

Stress can increase inflammation in your body, which can lead to hypertension (high blood pressure), which in turn can harm your heart. Chronic stress can also affect your lifestyle by causing poor sleep, unhealthy food choices, and avoiding exercise—all of which can increase your risk of heart disease.

While stress is unavoidable sometimes, it doesn’t need to progress into chronic stress that can negatively impact your long-term health. Manage stress with techniques like deep breathing, yoga or meditation, or, for a more long-term, deep-dive strategy, counseling can help.

Since high blood pressure can easily go unnoticed, it’s important to establish a relationship with a primary care provider for annual wellness visits. That primary care provider is the first line of defense for detecting or managing high blood pressure before it can have more severe and potentially life-threatening impacts.

Tara Kay, PA-C, is a board-certified physician assistant who sees patients in Beaufort and Okatie at Beaufort Memorial Heart Specialists, preventing, diagnosing and treating acute and chronic diseases of the cardiovascular system. For an appointment, call 843-770-4550.

10 Proven Stress Management Techniques
Information provided by The American Institute of Stress

Stress is the body’s nonspecific response to any demand—pleasant or unpleasant. While people often define stress differently, common definitions include “physical, mental, or emotional strain or tension” and “a condition or feeling experienced when a person perceives that demands exceed their available personal and social resources.” Just as stress is different for each of us, no stress reliever works for everyone.

Here are a few recommendations to help reduce stress.
Be sure to find what works best for you:

1) Before you let something get to you, ask yourself, “Will this really make much difference five years from now?”

2) Curl your toes against the soles of your feet as hard as you can for 15 seconds, then relax. Next, progressively tense and relax your leg, stomach, back, shoulder, and neck muscles in the same fashion. These exercises can be done anywhere and, in any order, to provide both physical and mental relief.

3) Sit or lie in a comfortable position, breathe deeply from your abdomen, count to five, and exhale. As you inhale, imagine you are pulling strength into your body and anxiety is being forced out when you exhale. Try doing this for 3-5 minutes twice a day, or whenever you feel tense.

4) Try to relax as much as possible in a comfortable, quiet environment with your eyes closed. Breathe quietly in a slow rhythmic fashion. With each exhalation, repeat a simple word or sound softly or even silently.

5) If you can’t close your eyes, pick a spot about 10 feet away to look at, and let it go slightly out of focus. Say the following phrases to yourself: My arms are heavy and relaxed. As you say this phrase, relax your arms and shoulders as much as possible, waiting until you feel the tension leave. My legs are heavy and relaxed. As you say this, relax your legs, feet, and hips as much as possible, wait until you feel the tension leave. My mind is calm and quiet. Try to rest your mind; imagine a calm, quiet pool with no thoughts rippling to the surface. Repeat these phrases two or three times until you feel notably relaxed.

6) Visualize you are on a beach, listening to the waves coming in and feeling the warm sun on your back. Try to make the sounds and sensations as vivid as possible. Concentrate on the pleasure and peaceful reaction it induces. It doesn’t have to be a beach, it might be an erotic fantasy, a wheat field, or some other memorable experience, be sure to include all of the sensuous details.

7) Smile inwardly with your eyes and mouth, meaning let go of the tension in your face. Now imagine you are taking a deep breath through a straw all the way down to your abdomen. Let your jaw and shoulders go limp while you feel a comforting wave of warmth and heaviness seeping all the way down to your toes. It takes practice to master this technique, but it is highly effective in achieving relaxation in a short period of time.

8) Listen to music to relax and lift your mood.

9) Take a brisk 10-to-15 minute walk to clear your mind.

10) Satisfy your personal needs. Make it a point to take 30 minutes a day to do whatever you want—including nothing at all. Pampering yourself is a powerful stress reliever.

The American Institute of Stress is the only organization in the world solely created and dedicated to study the science of stress and the advancement of innovative and scientifically based stress management techniques. AIS provides the latest evidence-based knowledge, research, and management techniques for stress and stress-related disorders. www.stress.org