High blood pressure and mental health
The International Society of Hypertension (ISH - "International Hypertension League") goes even further in a position paper, naming "body and mind" alongside diet and exercise as a key pillar of blood pressure reduction. Specifically, it recommends sufficient sleep and stress reduction through meditation, yoga, and mindfulness. Listening to music and breathing exercises can help, too.
There is even a medical specialty called psychocardiology. In this section we'll take a closer look at the connection between mental health and blood pressure.
We also find the effect of placebos inactive pills on blood pressure very fascinating. A pill without an active ingredient, or even just the idea of taking one, can already lower blood pressure. And then there's the familiar issue of "white-coat hypertension": blood pressure can be higher when a doctor measures it than during self-measurement.
Are you, for example, familiar with the condition alexithymia? People affected have difficulty accessing their emotions. Surprisingly many of these "emotionally blind" individuals suffer from high blood pressure.
Articles in this category:
- Blood pressure and mental health
- Blood Pressure and Stress
- Tip: Quick cold stimulus to calm you during acute stress
- Broken Heart Syndrome
- Blood pressure and emotions (Alexithymia)
- Anger and High Blood Pressure: A Threat to Vascular Health
- Loneliness and Blood Pressure
- Making blood pressure measurements a habit
- Blood Pressure and Personality Type
This article comes from BloodPressureDB – the leading app since 2011 that helps hundreds of thousands of people monitor their blood pressure every day.
Our content is based on carefully researched, evidence-based information and is continuously updated (as of 01/2026).
Author Horst Klier has been dealing intensively with high blood pressure since 2002 – initially from personal experience and since 2009 as a developer of BloodPressureDB – and, thanks to his app and specialist platform used millions of times and numerous publications, he is now regarded as an established blood pressure expert. As the author of several health guides and professional articles, he explains complex topics clearly and in a practical way.
Author Horst Klier has been dealing intensively with high blood pressure since 2002 – initially from personal experience and since 2009 as a developer of BloodPressureDB – and, thanks to his app and specialist platform used millions of times and numerous publications, he is now regarded as an established blood pressure expert. As the author of several health guides and professional articles, he explains complex topics clearly and in a practical way.
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