Low blood pressure: spiritual meaning and emotional causes
By the Body Hemi-Sync editorial teamUpdated Editorial policy
What low blood pressure is
Low blood pressure, or hypotension, is a blood pressure reading lower than usual, generally below 90/60 mmHg. In many people it causes no symptoms and is simply normal for them, and it is often a sign of a healthy heart. It only becomes a concern when it causes symptoms or points to another problem.
Symptoms can include light-headedness or vertigo, feeling faint, blurred vision, weakness, fatigue, confusion and fainting. Orthostatic (postural) hypotension is a drop in pressure when you stand up quickly, which can make you feel dizzy for a few seconds. Causes include dehydration, standing for a long time, heat, pregnancy, some medicines (including those for high blood pressure, heart conditions and depression), anaemia, heart problems, hormonal conditions such as Addison's disease, blood loss, severe infection and severe allergic reactions. A doctor can measure your blood pressure lying and standing, look for a cause and adjust any medicines. Simple steps such as drinking enough fluids and getting up slowly often help.
The emotional meaning of low blood pressure
Spiritually, low blood pressure is linked to a lack of drive to live fully. It is the opposite movement to high blood pressure: instead of pushing too hard, the energy drains away.
Discouragement and losing heart
You may feel that nothing is going right and that it is pointless to try, because it will not work anyway. You feel emptied of energy and unable to carry the weight of events. Discouragement and defeatism set in. Your heart is no longer in it, and life may look like a dead end. If this goes on, the page on depression may help you put words to it.
Powerless before the norms
You may feel powerless about what you are asked to do to fit the standards society sets, standards that do not always match your own values. Behind this can sit the fear of having to give up some of your dreams. The spiritual interpretation invites you to ask whether you have started to see yourself as a victim of circumstances, and what you would do if you did not.
Wanting to escape
Low blood pressure can lead to fainting, a literal way of leaving the scene. Symbolically, the question is whether you want to escape certain responsibilities, situations or people, because facing them would mean taking a position and doing things you do not feel like doing.
Responsible for everyone
At the same time, you may feel responsible for everyone around you, which is very heavy to carry. This may have started very early in life. You feel weak, powerless, exhausted, and no longer want to invest yourself in life. The message from the body is to trust yourself and go for it, guided by your own inner strength.
When low is simply calm
A blood pressure below the norm is not always a problem: some people feel perfectly well with it. In the same spirit, low pressure can also be the sign of a life lived with very little stress, in tune with its own rhythm. What matters is how you feel and how you live.
A gentler way to hold it
The closing movement is about taking time for yourself and rediscovering the joy of living.
- Take time for yourself. Set aside time each day that is not for anyone else.
- Find what you love. Reconnect with an activity or a passion that once gave you energy.
- Hand back what is not yours. Choose one responsibility that belongs to someone else and return it, kindly.
- Live simply. Let each day hold a small, simple pleasure, the way a child enjoys things.
- Trust your inner strength. Take one step towards a dream you were afraid to give up.
Questions to ask yourself
Take your time with these. There are no right answers; simply notice what comes up.
- What have I stopped putting effort into because I am sure it will not work?
- Where is my heart no longer in what I do?
- Which norms am I trying to meet that do not match my own values?
- Which dream am I afraid of having to give up?
- Which situation or person would I rather escape than face, and what would facing it ask of me?
- Whose responsibilities am I carrying that are not mine, and since when?
“I take time for myself. I hand back what belongs to others and reconnect with what I love.”
When to see a doctor
- Fainting with chest pain, a racing or irregular heartbeat, shortness of breath, or a severe headache. Call emergency services.
- Signs of shock, such as cold, clammy, pale or blue skin, fast shallow breathing, a weak rapid pulse or confusion, especially after bleeding, a severe allergic reaction or with an infection. Call emergency services.
- Fainting or falls, even once, or dizziness that keeps coming back when you stand up.
- Dizziness after starting or changing a medicine, including blood pressure tablets. Speak to your doctor or pharmacist. Do not stop or change the dose of a prescribed treatment because of anything you read here.
- Black or bloody stools, or vomiting blood, which can mean internal bleeding.
- Low blood pressure with extreme tiredness, weight loss, darkening skin or salt craving, which a doctor may want to check.
- Feeling hopeless, or that life is not worth living. Speak to a doctor the same day, or call emergency services if you are in danger.
Related conditions
Sources and inspiration
Medical information
Emotional and spiritual interpretation
- Jacques Martel, Le Grand Dictionnaire des Malaises et des Maladies , pp. 406–407.
This page is an original interpretation written by the Body Hemi-Sync editorial team. It is inspired by these sources and does not reproduce them. How we write and check our pages.