My Heart & Mind with Sallie Crawley - Life after a Heart Attack or Cardiac Surgery
You survived the heart attack, cardiac surgery, or cardiac arrest, but now what? Life after a heart event can feel overwhelming, lonely, and uncertain. Your body may be healing, but your mind and emotions are still catching up.
Friends say you’re lucky to be alive, and you know you are. But inside, you’re dealing with fear, exhaustion, and grief. You’ve been given a second chance, but you don’t know how to make the most of it. Your confidence is shaken, your energy is low, and no one really talks about how recovery is more than just medication and exercise.
That’s where My Heart & Mind with Sallie Crawley comes in — the podcast designed specifically for people recovering from a heart attack, heart surgery, cardiac arrest, or living with heart disease. You’ll get emotional support, mindset tools, and practical strategies to help you rebuild your life - one breath, one step, one day at a time.
Unlike medical podcasts that focus on clinical facts, My Heart & Mind is about the emotional and mental rehab you didn’t know you needed. Each episode blends Sallie’s personal experience as a heart patient with expert tips, inspiring interviews, guided visualisations, and real talk about how to manage fatigue, fear, and the inner critic.
Sallie Crawley is a heart attack survivor, cardiac coach, and certified practitioner in mind-body wellbeing. She understands firsthand the rollercoaster of emotions that come after a cardiac event, and she’s helped hundreds of people navigate recovery with more hope, clarity, and self-compassion.
Whether you’re newly diagnosed, weeks, months or even years into your recovery, or maybe supporting a loved one through theirs, this podcast will help you feel less alone and more in control. Tune in to learn how to manage your energy, shift your mindset, and find joy and purpose again - so you can live not just longer, but happier and better.
🎧 Follow now to start healing from the inside out.
My Heart & Mind with Sallie Crawley - Life after a Heart Attack or Cardiac Surgery
Relaxamation - I Am In Charge of How I Feel (13 minutes)
The Dalai Lama said, “Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.” To me, the quote means that experiencing pain, physical and emotional, is a natural and unavoidable part of life, but whether or not we experience suffering as a result of that pain is a choice that we can make. In other words, we can choose to let the pain control and consume us, causing suffering, or we can choose to accept the pain and manage it in a healthy and constructive way.
Managing how we feel and react to people, circumstances, and situations can reduce our suffering. You are in charge of how you feel.
I’m sure you are familiar with the term, “You choose how you react”. Actually, it’s not 100% true as our limbic system is always on the lookout for trouble and anything that would be a threat so you may initially experience a fight or flight response. However, you can stop, take a breath or two, and calmly reconsider your response, there may be some facts you weren’t aware of, and therefore take charge of how you feel.
Do not listen to this episode while driving or operating machinery.
Your affirmations:
- I am in charge of how I feel
- I choose thoughts that give me control of how I feel
- I decide how I want to feel
Say your affirmations 5 times each as a set. Repeat your set of affirmations at least once a day. The more you use them the bigger the impact. Add them to a habit that you do every day. While cleaning your teeth, driving, running, walking your dog, washing the dishes, when you first wake up, or the last thing at night.
Your self-reflection questions are:
- In what situations do my emotions work against me?
- When I lose control of my emotions, what happens?
- How would my life be changed if I had more control over my emotions?
Use these reflection questions to delve a little deeper and get to know yourself better. You can use them as prompts for journaling, during meditation or just give yourself a few moments of time to consider.
Read the complete article here Podcast & Blog Page.
Getting to know Sallie Crawley
Survivorship after a heart attack or cardiac surgery can be challenging. You can rebuild the puzzle of your life and thrive. It takes one beat at a time and the support of people who have had similar experiences. You are not alone. Join me and other hearties in the My Heart & Mind Community, you'll get a warm welcome. You can also visit my website www.myheartandmind.co.uk.
Disclaimer
The information contained within my podcast and on my website is for general information purposes only. It is not official health advice and is not intended to be used as such. Any action you take upon the information you find on this website is strictly at your own risk. If you have any questions relating to specific health concerns or you think you may be suffering from a medical condition, you must consult a medical professional immediately. You must also consult a medical professional before making any changes to your normal lifestyle habits. You can read my full disclaimer here.