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Pour your heart out: Texas Health promotes ‘Love Game’
Courtesy of Texas Health Resources – A screenshot shows the three ways people can automatically be entered to win the Love Game Sweepstakes.
By Jessica Rush, jrush@acnpapers.com
Just in time for Valentine’s Day, Texas Health Resources is offering extra incentives for “lovebirds” to express their feelings.
When individuals send an e-note to a loved one or post a love story at the hospital’s new microsite, they will automatically be entered into the Love Game Sweepstakes for a chance to win a year’s worth of groceries, an iPad or Wii Fit bundle.
Anyone who requests a healthy-heart kit from Texas Health will also automatically be entered into the Love Game sweepstakes. The initiative is to draw attention to the hospital’s new microsite at www.texashealth.org/heart.
The site offers preventive information for heart disease on a variety of subjects, from lifestyle improvements to cooking healthy recipes and finding a doctor for screenings. Advice and support from individuals with heart disease can be found on the site’s blog.
Patients or their loved ones can also use the site to remember a caregiver for Valentine’s Day. Through a donation to the Grateful Hearts program, an outstanding caregiver can be recognized with a pin, and future patients and families can benefit from the gift.
Since February is also American Heart Month, it should be noted that declarations of love, even electronically, can be good for the heart.
According to the National Institutes of Health, affection can trigger the brain to release the hormone oxytocin, which relieves stress and reduces blood pressure. The oxytocin response to affection occurs between family, close friends and even pets, so singles don’t have to be destined to a broken heart, both figuratively and literally.
“Being in relationships and forming those primary intimate relationships is a core, essential part of being human,” said Max Nelson, a licensed professional counselor and relationship expert at the Seay Behavioral Health Center in Plano. “Without those relationships, we aren’t being fully human. Humans aren’t meant to be isolated.”
People who are emotionally brokenhearted should be especially careful on Valentine’s Day to mitigate destructive behaviors such as isolation or use of alcohol and drugs. Nelson recommends that people actively engage in normal hobbies, not allowing one day of the year to have too much power over their mood.
“That’s something to keep in mind … that this is kind of a contrived reason to celebrate the relationship,” Nelson said. “It’s really easy for folks to get defocused on what a relationship is and get washed away in the pajama-grams and flowers. I don’t want to downplay the significance of the potential health benefits to Valentine’s Day, but doing it in a fake, made-up kind of way mitigates those benefits.”
Even couples in relationships can set themselves up for disappointment if their significant other does not create the picture-perfect romantic day. Nelson’s offers an easy assignment for anyone seeking to prevent dashed expectations.
“Clarify what are the things you’re looking for,” he said. “In other words, evaluate what are the elements that you hold valuable in those kinds of relationships. You’ve got to keep it real.”
Visit www.texashealth.org/heart for information about heart health and the Love Game Sweepstakes.
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