Heart disease: What are ways to be intimate besides having sex?
People who have heart disease practice intimacy by holding each other, touching, kissing, and using massage. Doing these things can help with confidence or desire. Some people try oral sex or use their hands to arouse themselves or their partners. These forms of intimacy don't require as much energy and still feel good.
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Finding your inner strength when you have heart disease
Do you know people who—no matter what's going on in their lives—stay positive and hopeful? They call on an inner strength that helps keep them going.
Building inner strength is like building muscle—exercising it makes it stronger. And it really can help you handle stress and manage your heart disease.
You can find your inner strength too. Here's how.
Think back to a time before you found out that you had heart disease. You probably had a tough time or two. What got you through it? Use that experience to think of ways that could help you feel stronger now.
If it's hard to remember that time or how it felt, that's okay. You can always ask someone who knows you well to remind you how strong you can be.
People with inner strength know that they can't change what happens. But they've learned to change how they feel about it. A diagnosis of heart disease may not be easy to accept. But you might find things you can do to feel more in control, and that can relieve stress.
People with inner strength try to look for the positive in stressful situations, and they learn from the situations. For example, you might look back and remember how nervous you were when you first joined your exercise group. And you might think about how after that first class, everyone congratulated you. Now the class has become a great place for support.
Keeping a gratitude journal can help you change your focus from what's wrong to what's right in your life.
Use techniques like deep breathing and guided imagery. When you take time for yourself, it can help you feel recharged and stronger.